What If
by Zana G. Nicholson
Summary: COMPLETE! First of two stories (second is Walking in the Shadows). Sirius Black returns from beyond the veil, after making a huge sacrifice. A free man now, what will Sirius do with his life? PLEASE R & R!
1. The Sacrifice

WHAT IF....  
  
Sirius landed flat on his back, and found himself gazing up into a pearly- white mist. Ignoring the pain in his chest from the Stunner, he scrambled to his feet, and made to walk back through the archway.  
  
But there was no archway anymore.  
  
Sirius' breath began to come short and fast, his heart thumping wildly. He had heard about an archway in the Department of Mysteries...the dead lived on its other side, and those who passed through it could not return.  
  
'No!' He gasped, sprinting about a hundred yards forwards, then turning around, and running back the other way. The mist clouded his vision. He groped blindly around, praying desperately for a way out. But there was none.  
  
Sirius fell to his knees, and closed his eyes tightly.  
  
Please, he murmured, please, someone. Help me.  
  
WE WERE NOT EXPECTING YOU SO SOON, SIRIUS BLACK.  
  
Sirius leapt to his feet, clutching his wand. 'Who's there?' He shouted, panicking slightly, 'what do you want?'  
  
WE WANT YOU, SIRIUS BLACK. SOME YOUNG, FRESH BLOOD WILL DO US POOR WANDERING SOULS SOME GOOD.  
  
'Please! Let me go back! My godson, Harry...he's in danger...Voldemort will kill him...please, just let me go back for a minute, to make sure he gets away safely!' Sirius pleaded into the mist, pivoting on the spot, hoping to spy the speaker.  
  
WE DO NOT BARGAIN WITH NEWCOMERS, SIRIUS BLACK. DON'T YOU THINK EVERYONE WANTS TO GO BACK AT FIRST?  
  
'Who are you?' Sirius was frightened. He attempted to cast a Clearing Spell, to lift the mist, but his wand merely gave a pathetic sputter, and turned to a pile of ash in his hand.  
  
YOUR WAND WILL DO YOU NO GOOD HERE, SIRIUS BLACK.  
  
'Who are you?' Sirius cried again, 'please, at least tell me where I am, and who you are!'  
  
WE ARE THOSE WHO WERE EXPELLED FROM THE WORLD WITHOUT WARNING, BY THE MALICE OF OTHERS. VICTIMS ALL ARE WE.  
  
'Y...you all died...because...'  
  
SOMEONE MURDERED US the voice finished. It was deep, rumbling and thoughtful. It inspired awe in Sirius Black. WE WERE BETRAYED, DEPRIVED OF OUR LIVES, OUR LOVES, OUR FAMILIES. YOU ARE ONE OF US NOW.  
  
'No', Sirius begged, 'no, I'm not. I just fell through here. Nobody murdered me. I just got stunned, that's all. So, can't you let me go back?'  
  
WE NEED YOU.  
  
Something about this remark sounded sinister. 'Wh...what do you need me for?' Sirius' mouth was suddenly very dry.  
  
YOU HAVE A BODY. A BODY OF THE LIVING CAN FEED THE SOULS OF THE DEAD.  
  
And Sirius realised that if he wasn't dead already, he soon would be.  
  
'Let me go!' He bellowed, 'let me go, I swear, if Harry ends up here with me I'll have my vengeance!'  
  
HARRY.  
  
A different voice spoke now. Sirius' heart almost stopped. 'Harry', he whispered, 'Harry Potter.'  
  
HARRY...POTTER.  
  
'My godson', Sirius choked, 'Voldemort is killing all my friends, and if Harry dies too, I'll never forgive myself.'  
  
VOLDEMORT.  
  
'Yes.' Sirius was struggling to hold back tears. 'If you really were all murdered, some of you must remember him.'  
  
NO. The old voice thundered angrily.  
  
YES. The second, lighter voice argued. VOLDEMORT. HARRY POTTER.  
  
Sirius saw that this second speaker was his only ray of hope.  
  
'Yes. I want to help Harry escape Voldemort. Let me go, and I can do that!'  
  
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE.  
  
'No! It can't be! I don't want to die. Please, let me go, and let me help Harry Potter.'  
  
The mist began to lift. Sirius found that he was standing in what appeared to be a circular, whitewashed room, with one, white door at the farthest point away from him. He stood completely still, unsure as to what to do.  
  
The door opened, and two figures entered the room. They turned to face Sirius. Sirius glanced at the face of the first person, then looked at the second. He made a choking noise, and stared in disbelief.  
  
'Lily', he breathed, 'is that you?'  
  
The woman, dressed all in white, smiled a radiant smile at Sirius. She was pale as chalk, and the robes she wore did not appear to be solid-a strange mist clouded her, so Sirius was unable to see her properly. But there was no doubting the fact that this was some form of Lily Potter.  
  
At the same moment, the two old friends moved swiftly forward. Sirius was sure she would pass right through him, but instead, his arms clasped tightly around a solid being. Lily returned his embrace.  
  
'I'm so sorry, Lily', Sirius whispered, 'I'm sorry...it's all my fault. And I've made a mess of looking after Harry. Your son risked his life today because he thought he would be saving me, while all the time, I was sitting at home, forbidden to leave in case anybody recognised me.'  
  
Lily hugged Sirius even tighter. The mist surrounded both of them now. Sirius began to feel oddly peaceful, despite the situation.  
  
'Sirius, you've done your utmost for Harry', Lily murmured, 'everything you've done, you've done it for the good of James, Harry and I...changing the secret keepers...not giving in to the Dementors...escaping Azkaban...you have been the father to Harry that James so desperately wanted to be.'  
  
'Where is James?' Sirius asked, suddenly anxious again.  
  
'He is watching Harry. Even we of the spirit world have some small powers in the world of the living. Harry will not die today. Dumbledore is with him. I should be watching too, but one of us wanted to see you.'  
  
Sirius pulled away gently, and gazed around the bright, yet windowless room. 'What is this place?' He asked quietly, 'where did Voldemort send you?'  
  
Lily sighed, and smiled briefly. 'This is where all victims of murder come, after they die. It is a quiet, peaceful place. The one who spoke to you first was lying. Sometimes people are sent back, to live again. But always at a price. Only two people have ever fallen through the arch, besides you. The one who spoke to you took their bodies, to give himself strength.'  
  
'Is that him?' Sirius jerked his head towards the silent figure by the door, 'has he ever hurt you? Or James? Why can't you come back? What's the price? Will he let me go back?'  
  
Lily laughed, a hollow, sad sound. 'Yes, this is the one who rules over the Archway. He does not hurt people, only gives them peace and rest. He needs flesh and blood, whenever he can get it, so he can help all the rest of us. He rewarded the two very well for their sacrifice.  
  
'We cannot come back because we are not needed. It was our destiny to die when we did. As for your last two questions, I cannot answer them. But he can.'  
  
Lily stepped aside, and looked expectantly at the man by the door. He too was dressed all in white. He had a silver beard, and solemn grey eyes. Sirius was afraid.  
  
'You wish to return to the world beyond the Archway.' The man stated, his eyes boring into Sirius'.  
  
'Yes. And I need to hurry', Sirius replied, as bravely as he could, when he was trembling with shock and fear.  
  
'What will you give me if I let you return home?' The man queried.  
  
Sirius had not expected to have to come up with a sacrifice himself. 'Em...'  
  
'Your magic', the man interrupted almost immediately.  
  
Sirius was shocked. 'If I have no magic, I can't defend Harry!' He cried.  
  
'It's not your magic that's helped Harry all this time, Sirius', Lily pointed out patiently, 'it's your heart. But my lord, he is a wizard. To take his magic is to take a part of his soul.'  
  
'Lily!' Sirius yelled, 'couldn't you just take my devillishly good looks instead? Or my hair-make me bald! Or...or...take away my house, or...or anything, but don't take my magic!'  
  
'If I do not take your magic, you will remain here.' The man declared calmly.  
  
Given this direct choice, Sirius made up his mind in a flash. 'Take my magic.' He said abruptly, resignedly, 'and do it fast.'  
  
The old man raised both his hands, and came forward. He placed his hands on Sirius' shoulders, and began to chant.  
  
Sirius felt energy draining from his body. Sparks flashed before his eyes, his stomach felt like it was churned up by a combine harvester. He was screaming from the horrible, gut-wrenching pain that filled him...  
  
He feel to his knees, gasping for breath, feeling like a shadow of himself. Lily stood next to him, tears glistening in her eyes. She helped Sirius to his feet, and whispered in his ear 'forgive him Sirius. You will understand in time.'  
  
She pressed something into his hand. Looking down, he saw that it was a mother-of-pearl handled knife. Wordlessly, he nodded and closed his hand tightly around the knife.  
  
'Now let me go', he begged wearily, 'let me help my friends.'  
  
The old man-who now looked much stronger, and several years younger-pointed silently to the white door. Sirius took a deep breath, and laid his hand on the doorknob. He opened the door, and the whole scene behind him began to melt away into the thick, confusing mist. He flung the door wide open, and strode through. 


	2. A New Beginning

I've made a couple of changes from what my original idea for this chapter was-if there are any inconsistencies because of this, please let me know so I can fix them!!!!!!!!!  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Sirius found himself lying in the middle of the archway, as he would have fallen if the archway were not a portal. Scrambling quickly to his feet, he barely registered the looks of shock and amzement on the faces of those around him. Bellatrix Lestrange had stopped, mid-cackle, looking quite scared. There was Harry, halfway down the steps to the dais, bellowing 'Sirius!' in panicked tones. There was Professor Dumbledore; even he looked shocked.  
  
Nobody moved for several seconds. Then Bellatrix raised her wand.  
  
'Not so fast, cousin', Sirius snarled. He charged forwards, and knocked her off her feet, trying to wrestle her wand from her grip. She fired jinxes and curses in every direction, missing Sirius by a hair's breadth.  
  
'I killed you', she gasped, 'you went through the arch!'  
  
'Unfortuantely for you', Sirius hissed, 'I'm back from the dead!'  
  
'Stupefy!' Bellatrix screamed. The spell caught Sirius on the shoulder, and he was blasted backwards. He saw Remus holding Harry back, shouting 'No, Harry, she's dangerous!'  
  
Sirius saw Dumbledore aim a curse at Bellatrix, but she blocked it deftly, and sprinted up the steps and out of the chamber.  
  
'Get her!' Roared Sirius, recovering from the curse, 'don't let her escape!'  
  
But everybody seemed a lot more concerned with Sirius. Kingsley looked up at Dumbledore, who nodded. The wizard hurried from the chamber, in pursuit of the Death Eater.  
  
'Kingsley can deal with Miss Lestrange', he said confidently. Oh, how wrong he was.  
  
************  
  
'Sirius!' Harry cried, 'I thought you'd...what happened? You disappeared for a few seconds!'  
  
Sirius swallowed hard. 'Damn veil over the arch, must've got tangled up in it. That's some pretty good Defence Against the Dark Arts you were doin' there, Harry.'  
  
Remus was standing next to Sirius, and he knew he would have a lot of questions to answer. Sirius glanced up pleadingly at Dumbledore. He couldn't let Harry hear what he had been through.  
  
'Where's your wand, Sirius?' Harry asked. It was obvious to everyone that Harry was dying to hug his godfather, but wasn't sure whether Sirius would like it.  
  
'C'mere.' Sirius grunted, pulling Harry into a bear hug, ignoring his godson's question. 'Don't you ever do something like this again! I don't want you dying trying to save me.' Then, he bent down low, and whispered so only Harry could hear; 'but thanks, Harry.'  
  
'Harry, Neville. I think you had better come with me, and see to your other friends.' Dumbledore intervened, smiling benevolently at Harry over his half-moon spectacles.  
  
'What?' Harry tore his eyes away from Sirius and glanced up at his headmaster. 'Oh yeah, Ron and the others...are you sure you're okay, Sirius?'  
  
'I'm fine', Sirius lied, 'go on and check if Ron's all right.'  
  
Harry nodded, grinned, and sprinted up the steps to Dumbledore. The headmaster put one arm around Harry and the other around Neville, and ushered them out of the chamber, with one last meaningful glance at Sirius. He raised his wand, and forced the captured Death Eaters to follow him. As soon as the trio were out of sight, Sirius heard Harry let out a whoop of delight and joy. And he knew now that it would have been worth sacrificing anything, to give Harry happiness.  
  
Sirius flopped down onto the edge of the dais, feeling very queasy all of a sudden. The image of Lily Potter, trapped beyond the veil, flashed into his mind. He leaned forward and retched.  
  
'Sirius.'  
  
Remus was standing in front of him, calm and quiet as ever. He knew something was wrong. Sirius looked up at him, and tried to speak, but no words came.  
  
'He's lost it', growled Alastor Moody, as hobbled across to the dais, one hand touching a wound on the side of his head.  
  
'Lost what?' Remus asked sharply, looking from Sirius to Moody.  
  
'You wanna tell him, son?' Moody queried, in a tone more gentle than the one in which he usually spoke, 'or shall I?'  
  
Sirius felt a large lump growing in his throat, and fought to hold back the tears. He closed his eyes, and felt that awful sense of weakness rushing through him all over again. He met Remus' eyes.  
  
'I lost my magic', he announced hollowly.  
  
'What?' Remus was laughing nervously. 'How...? How could you have lost...I don't understand.'  
  
'They took my magic. They wouldn't let me come back without sacrificing something.'  
  
'Who wouldn't?' Tonks was dragging herself painfully to her feet, having been revived by Moody. Moody now helped her, while Sirius tried to think of the least painful way of explaining his situation.  
  
'Lily, and some old man.'  
  
Everybody froze. 'Lily?' Moody let go of Tonks, who very nearly collapsed in a heap on the floor. 'Lily...who?'  
  
'Lily Potter', Sirius replied miserably.  
  
'Sirius mate, I think you must've hit your head when you fell through the arch', Remus was looking terrified now.  
  
'Nah. He's not hallucinating', Moody interrupted. 'I can smell a liar a mile away. I can smell a wizard too, and he ain't one no more.'  
  
Sirius made a strange, choking noise and buried his face in his hands.  
  
'Sirius, tell me the story properly. This is serious.' Remus sat down next to his friend, and stared at him in disbelief.  
  
Sirius took a deep breath and related his unbelievable tale:  
  
'I fell through the arch into this weird, cloudy place. Somebody kept talking to me, but I couldn't see them. They were threatening me...I was scared. Then, the place turned into a room and Lily and this man, who's in charge of murder victims or something, were standing there. Lily...she spoke to me. Made me feel better. Then the man said I could either stay there, and have my magic, or come back to you lot, without magic. And here I am. I have no wand, I have no magic. Lily gave me a knife. Please don't tell Harry!' He begged, feeling a mixture of shame and loneliness.  
  
'You gave up your magic for Harry', Remus said softly, 'you're a good man Sirius. And I swear I'll do whatever I can to help you. You took a tough decision. I don't think I could've done it.'  
  
Moody held out a hand for the knife, and Sirius handed it to him. He turned it over and over in his hands, his magical eye travelling the length of the weapon several times. 'My gut tells me this knife'll serve you almost as well as your wand would.' He remarked, passing the knife back to its new owner. 'Read the inscription.'  
  
Sirius turned the knife over in his hands, and read the inscription on the handle:  
  
James Potter, Order of the Phoenix.  
  
The knife was stained with Bellatrix' blood. Moody took it from Sirius, spat on the sleeve of his robes, and wiped the blood away.  
  
'This knife's done some good work already', he muttered. He fixed both his eyes on Sirius and surveyed him carefully. 'You'll get by without your magic, Black. You're young, healthy and strong.'  
  
Sirius laughed mirthlessly. 'Young? Not really. Healthy?' He pushed his long black hair out of his eyes and smiled thinly. 'I'm like a bloody stick insect. Strong? Maybe, but what's that compared to magical powers, Mad-Eye? Eh?'  
  
Tonks responded before Mad-Eye could. 'You of all people should remember the ancient magic. It's what's kept Harry alive and safe all these years. You gave up a huge part of your life today for the boy. Love and emotions like that will not go unrecognised. While you may have lost the power to cast a spell on somebody with a piece of wood, you've given Harry a double protection against Voldemort. Your sacrifice is similar to Lily's was, the night she died. She gave up her life for her son. You gave up your magic.'  
  
While Tonks' words were of little comfort to Sirius in his present mood, in the months to come, he would find them helpful and cheering.  
  
'But please', he whispered, gazing round at his friends, 'please, don't tell Harry.'  
  
'Why not?' Moody growled, his magical eye darting in every direction.  
  
'If he knows that I gave up my magic to come back and help him, he'll blame himself, I know he will.'  
  
'He might not', Remus reasoned, 'he's a sensible lad...most of the time.'  
  
Sirius shook his head doubtfully. 'He's like me in some ways. And if it was the other way around, I'd blame myself completely, I know I would. God, can you imagine how he would've felt if I'd actually died? Knowing he came here to save my life, and I ended up losing it because of his actions? I couldn't leave him thinking he'd played any part in something that happened to me.'  
  
Moody sighed. 'You've grown up, Black', he remarked, grinning, 'didn't know you had it in you.'  
  
Sirius looked away. 'We should leave', he said at last, 'go upstairs, see how Kingsley got on.'  
  
The four members of the Order of the Phoenix hurried up to the Atrium, wanting to speak to Dumbledore about everything that had happened. They stepped out of the lift, and stopped dead.  
  
'Oh my giddy aunt...' Tonks breathed.  
  
'No', Remus whispered.  
  
Sirius said nothing, but stared around in disbelief at the carnage in the Atrium.  
  
The Fountain of Magical Brethren was in ruins. The pieces of the statues were scattered all around the room. Some were stained with blood.  
  
Three Ministry officials lay in crumpled heaps on the floor. Dead.  
  
Cornelius Fudge stood by one of the fireplaces, trembling and whimpering, surrounded by other officials.  
  
In the middle of the room stood Albus Dumbledore, as calm and collected as ever, his wand by his side. He was bending over Kingsley Shacklebot, who was gravely injured, but still alive.  
  
'Voldemort', he said loudly, watching Sirius. 'Voldemort was here. Kingsley and I held him long enough for the Minister to see him, so that he might at last begin some decisive action against him. He came looking for the Prophecy, when his Death Eaters did not return. He disapparated with Bellatrix.'  
  
'Where's Harry?' Sirius asked quickly.  
  
Dumbledore smiled. 'Downstairs, looking after his friends. I suspected Tom himself would come. Keeping Harry out of the way seemed like an excellent idea.'  
  
'Y...You Know Who!' Shrieked Fudge, 'V..He Who Must Not Be Named??? H..HARRY POTTER??? And YOU, Dumbledore. And...Oh my...Sirius Black! Seize him! Take him to Azkaban! Quickly!'  
  
'Dawlish, Williamson, I would advise you to take the Minister away for a cup of tea, and perhaps a sherbert lemon or two. He is obviously very distressed', Dumbledore said kindly, to the men on either side of Fudge. 'I presume', he continued, 'that in light of what you have all seen today, you believe that Voldemort has, indeed, returned? Very well then, if somebody could notify the Daily Prophet? Yes, Simpson, off you go. And as for Sirius Black...well, he came here today to save a young boy's life, and killed Bellatrix Lestrange. I presume all charges will be dropped? If somebody could go and notify the neccessary persons, then perhaps Sirius may go free? That will be all. Go and get some rest, you all look like you need it. Sirius, may I speak to you for a moment? Alone?'  
  
The ministry officials hurried off, shooting nervous glances at Dumbledore and Sirius over their shoulders. Sirius sighed, squared his shoulders, and walked across the Atrium to his old headmaster.  
  
'Have you done what I believe you did?' Dumbledore asked gently.  
  
Sirius nodded, and scraped the floor with the toe of his shoe. 'I had no choice', he replied huskily.  
  
Dumbledore nodded. 'It was brave of you', he commented, 'such a decision cannot have been easy.'  
  
'But it was', Sirius responded dully, 'Harry still needs me. I still...need Harry.'  
  
'With whom did you speak on the Other Side?' Dumbledore enquired.  
  
Sirius felt that lump rising in his throat again. 'Lily', he said abruptly, biting his lip so hard he made it bleed.  
  
'Ah', Dumbledore sighed, 'have you made your peace with the past now?'  
  
Sirius thought for a moment. Lily's words had certainly made him feel calmer and happier. 'I think I have', he answered, meeting Dumbledore's gaze.  
  
'I have a task for you, Sirius', Dumbledore said, inspecting his fingernails, 'one which you will enjoy immensely. You and Remus, that is. Go back to Grimmauld Place, both of you, and await my message. Alastor!'  
  
Moody looked over, and saluted Dumbledore, who nodded graciously. 'After you've seen to that nasty cut on your head, would you make sure Nymphadora gets to St Mungo's? And tell them to send someone to take Kingsley and these others to hospital as well?'  
  
'I'm fine, Dumbledore', Tonks protested, ' but I'll go with Moody, make sure he's not concussed.'  
  
'I'd watch it if I were you, young Tonks.' Moody said gruffly, 'c'mon, there's a free fireplace over there.'  
  
Moody grabbed Tonks by the arm as if she were a naughty child, and frogmarched her to the nearest fireplace.  
  
'I think I'll go and see how the Minister is feeling, and then see to Harry', Dumbledore announced, chuckling, 'you two, hurry back to headquarters, I'll be there as soon as I can.'  
  
'Can't I go and find Harry?' Sirius begged, 'Please, I'd like to speak to him.'  
  
Dumbledore shook his head. 'There will be plenty of time for that later. He is exhausted and feeling very guilty, I'm sure. Let him rest before you go getting him excited. He thought you were dead, you know.'  
  
'I know', Sirius murmured, turning away, 'I know.'  
  
Remus smiled at his comrade and clapped him on the back. 'It's been a long day, Padfoot. Let's get out of this place. I'm glad we missed Voldemort, aren't you?'  
  
'Yeah', Sirius said quietly, heading for a fireplace. He took a handful of Floo Powder from the pot by the fire, and tossed it onto the flames. 'C'mon, Moony', he called.  
  
And the two Marauders stepped into the flames, shouting 'Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place!' 


	3. Adjusting

Sirius paced up and down the kitchen for the thousandth time that night. Remus was drumming the fingers of one hand on the table, and chewing the fingernails of the other.  
  
'Stop it', Sirius snapped, 'that noise is irritating.'  
  
'I know', Remus sighed, 'it's irritating me too.' He stopped. Sirius kept pacing.  
  
The sound of the clock ticking was driving him crazy. Why hadn't Dumbledore arrived yet? Where was everyone else? How was Harry?  
  
'Goodness me, well this is a picture of happiness! I'd expect more delight from two men who've just defeated a pile of dangerous Death-Eaters!'  
  
Remus and Sirius spun around, and smiled at Molly and Arthur Weasley, who were just stepping out of the fireplace.  
  
'Good to see you Molly, Arthur', Remus hugged them both.  
  
Molly eyed him closely. 'You're very pale, Remus', she commented, 'you look exhausted. Go to bed! Dumbledore told us about everything you did. Thank you. Both of you.'  
  
'Can't', Remus argued, 'we're waiting for Dumbledore.'  
  
'Yeah. Where is he? Where's Harry? What's going on?' Sirius asked tensely.  
  
Arthur grinned. 'He'll be along soon. Harry is with him at the moment. They're talking about the Prophecy. Dumbledore notified us that Ron had been hurt, but he's going to be fine. How does it feel to be a free man, Sirius?'  
  
'Bloody brilliant', Sirius responded sarcastically, 'it's amazing.'  
  
'What's up with you?' Molly asked shrewdly, 'did something happen?'  
  
Sirius shrugged, and looked at Remus.  
  
'He died. Made a bargain with Lily Potter and some old man. Gave up his magic. Got to come to life again. Don't tell Harry.' Remus told the Weasleys the abridged version of the tale.  
  
Molly's eyes grew wide with horror. Arthur gasped.  
  
'Y...you're not a wizard any more?' Molly whispered.  
  
'Nope. I'm worse than a bloody squib.' Sirius said sulkily. He didn't feel like playing the brave, self-sacrificing hero right now.  
  
'No you're not', Arthur contradicted him, 'you got here by Floo Powder, didn't you?'  
  
'Yeah.'  
  
'A non-wizard or squib couldn't've done that. You're just a wizard without a wand! Casting spells isn't everything, y'know.'  
  
'It is to me', Sirius grumbled. He spotted Remus' wand on the table and picked it up. 'Accio teapot!' He cried, pointing the wand at the pot on the table. Nothing happened. He tried again. And again. And again. Remus sighed heavily. Molly covered her mouth with her hand, and Arthur looked away.  
  
'It's pathetic!' Sirius shouted angrily. 'It would've been better if I'd just stayed dead!' He threw the wand on to the table, and sat down with a thump. There was a nervous silence. Sirius glanced around the trio of embarrassed order members.  
  
'That was the part where you were supposed to say "No Sirius, we're really happy you're back, whether you have magic or not."' Sirius added irritably.  
  
'Just imagine how Harry would be feeling right now if you'd died.' Molly said reproachfully, 'you don't mean that, Sirius.'  
  
'Yeah, well...' Sirius replied moodily. Out of habit, he patted his robes, to check if his wand was there. Of course, it wasn't. He felt so helpless!  
  
'It's like...it's like my arm's been chopped off', he explained quietly, 'or...or like I've suddenly gone blind. I'm just a Muggle, who can see all this magic happening around him, but can't do anything himself.'  
  
'I am sorry, Sirius.'  
  
Sirius looked up, and found that Albus Dumbledore had apparated in front of him. He jumped up, eager for news.  
  
'Well? What took so long? How's Kingsley? Where's Harry? Is he all right? Tell me something, before I explode!'  
  
Dumbledore smiled gently, and seated himself at the table. 'I will answer your questions in order, Sirius. I had to spend rather a long time with Cornelius Fudge, convincing him that he has not gone insane. Then, I went to St Mungo's to speak to Kingsley, before returning to Hogwarts, to meet with Harry, who was brought back to the school, along with his friends, by Minerva. Kingsley is in critical condition, the healers won't say what his chances of survival are.'  
  
'Poor Kingsley!' Molly cried, tears in her eyes, 'I must go and visit him later.'  
  
'Harry is now asleep in the hospital wing', Dumbledore continued, 'don't worry Sirius, he's fine, but after the stressful events of the day, Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping a close eye on him. Ron is healing nicely, you'll be happy to hear. Hermione and Luna will take some work, but Ginny is back to full health already. I think I've told you everything you wanted to know?'  
  
'Not half', Sirius growled, 'what've you done with the scum?'  
  
Dumbledore gave him a disapproving look. 'If you mean the followers of Tom Riddle, I have done nothing with them. They were forced to take a sleeping draught, which will last for some time. They are in a secure room in the Ministry.  
  
'How's Fudge holding up?' Arthur asked interestedly, 'what's he got to say about all this?'  
  
'He has sent word to Azkaban, that he wishes to speak to the Dementors. As his servants, they are bound to hear him out before making a decision between serving the Ministry and serving Tom. He is still in shock, but has apologised for his behaviour. The sight of Tom after all these years shook him to his very core. I doubt he will last much longer in the position of Minister.' Dumbledore gazed around at the small group; Sirius, Remus, Molly and Arthur. The old faithfuls. He sighed heavily, then glanced at Sirius once more.  
  
'You can see Harry tomorrow afternoon, Sirius. I think it might be a good idea to give him some time to think about today's events, before you make an appearance. Now, er, as for that...er...exciting news I had for you...would you mind terribly if I wait for a few days before revealing it you? It's just that it would be a dreadful thing to get your hopes up, then destroy them, don't you agree?'  
  
'Dumbledore, I couldn't very well be any more depressed than I am right now. Spill the beans', Sirius sighed wearily, sure that nothing could cheer him up now. But Dumbledore shook his head, wearing that same secret smile, and said 'No. I think I shall wait until I am certain. Expect me within the next few days. Sirius, I want you to be in my office at four o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Remus, you should come too.'  
  
'Sure', Remus nodded and grinned at Sirius, 'at least this time Padfoot won't have to damage any paintings to make his way around the castle.'  
  
Dumbledore chuckled. 'Very well then. I shall take my leave.' He made his way towards the fireplace, and grabbed a fistful of Floo powder. He tossed the dust into the flames, and was about to step into the fire, when he turned and added 'did I forget to mention? Severus has some information to pass on, he will be arriving later tonight. In a few hours perhaps?'  
  
And with this oh-so-cheering comment, he stepped into the fire and was gone.  
  
Sirius stood up abruptly, and headed towards the stairs.  
  
'Where are you going?' Remus called after him, puzzled.  
  
'Gonna dress like a Muggle...go for a walk...' Sirius shouted back, 'I don't want to be here when that lousy, sly, sneering, treacherous b-'  
  
'Sirius, stop right there!' Molly shrieked, 'I will not tolerate such language!'  
  
Sirius ignored her, and thumped on up the stairs, determined to leave before Snape arrived. He quickly changed into an old pair of jeans and a maroon jumper Molly had made for him the previous year. He jogged back down the stairs, and was almost out the front door, when the shrieking began.  
  
'SIRIUS BLACK!!!!!!! BLOOD TRAITOR!!!!!!!!!!! FRATERNISING WITH HALF-BREEDS AND MONSTERS!!!!!!GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!! GET OUT!!!!!!'  
  
'Hullo, Mother', he replied sullenly, slamming the door shut again, just as Remus and Arthur came racing up the stairs from the kitchen.  
  
Mrs Black glared down at her son, from her portrait on the wall. Sirius met her furious gaze with one equally full of venom. Even she was shocked into silence. Remus leapt forward and pulled the curtain over the portrait, before she could utter another word. Sirius grunted his thanks, and left the house, ignoring his friends' pleadings with him to stay.  
  
He didn't know where he was going, or why. He trudged past house after house, street after street, lost in his own thoughts.  
  
Harry had risked everything for him. Not only his own life, but the lives of five other teenagers too.  
  
Idiot, Sirius grumbled to himself, stupid idiot.  
  
Then another part of him felt deeply touched. Harry must quite like him, if he'd gone to all that effort to save him.  
  
Really, it was the least Sirius could do, to give up his magic for Harry's sake.  
  
It would've been nice and peaceful, being dead. Okay, so being eaten hadn't sounded very pleasant, but Lily had said it was quite nice, beyond the veil. He could've been with his best mate again. And all his other friends, who had died because of Voldemort.  
  
These thoughts flowed around in his head for several hours. What a lonely figure he appeared to be; a tall, broad-shouldered man, dressed in scruffy clothes, hunched over and trudging slowly through the streets. He carefully avoided street lamps. This 'free man' business would take some getting used to.  
  
Sirius glanced down at his watch. It was three o'clock in the morning! Gazing around, he realised he had no idea where he was. If I had my wand, he thought bitterly, I could find my way home.  
  
He was going to have do it the Muggle way, and read signposts. Unfortunately, Sirius Black wasn't used to doing anything the Muggle way, and took many a wrong road, and threw many a tantrum from pure exasperation, before he finally found himself back at Grimmauld Place. It was five o'clock when he stomped back into the house, in an even filthier mood than he had been in before.  
  
'Well well, if it isn't the magic Muggle.'  
  
WHAM.  
  
************  
  
'If you think about', Sirius reasoned, hobbling over to a chair and gently easing himself down, 'he really did deserve it.'  
  
'Sirius Black!' Molly Weasley shrilled, 'Severus Snape is lying in the next room, unconscious, thanks to your temper! The poor man, he's in a terrible state.'  
  
'He ASKED for it, Molly!' Sirius protested, 'calling me the "Magic Muggle"! Arthur would've done the same!'  
  
'No he would NOT!' Molly glared around at her husband, who nodded hastily, shrugging guiltily when Sirius frowned at him.  
  
'Leave Sirius alone, Mum!' George Weasley said crossly, 'Snape deserved every punch and kick he got. Just goes to show that magic isn't the most important thing in life.'  
  
'You're right, George. A decent left-hook is the greatest asset anyone can have!' Fred interjected brightly, ignoring his mother's expression.  
  
'Severus' nose was broken!' Molly said angrily.  
  
'It needed some remodelling', Remus remarked, draining his bottle of Butterbeer, and tossing one to Sirius.  
  
'Honestly!' Molly screeched, 'you're all as bad as each other!'  
  
She stormed out of the room, muttering under her breath. Arthur looked uneasy.  
  
'She's on your side, y'know, Sirius', he told him, 'she just hates violence...doesn't want the boys to think she'd condone it.'  
  
Arthur, Fred, and George Weasley were sitting by the fire, with a pack of Exploding Snap. Remus was sitting with his feet up on the table, unfurling a copy of the Daily Prophet, and Sirius was massaging his shin, where Snape had kicked him during their brief brawl in the hallway.  
  
'Interesting', Remus said aloud, 'listen to this: BLACK'S BACK! THE STORY OF AN UNSUNG HERO. See page 2.' He spread the newspaper out on the table, and everybody leaned forwards to look at it. A large, black-and-white photograph of Sirius in his younger, happier days, took half of the front page. The other half proclaimed 'YOU KNOW WHO HAS RETURNED! HOW TO PREPARE. See page 1.'  
  
'Ignore the stuff on You-Know-Who, we know it all already. This article about Sirius is really funny', Remus remarked, turning the page. Sirius began to read:  
  
'As the dramatic events of yesterday unfolded before the eyes of a dozen Ministry officials, that notorious fugitive, Sirius Black stepped clamly out of the elevator and spoke to Albus Dumbledore. "I didn't know it was him at first" One young Ministry official told The Daily Prophet, "But then I heard Dumbledore say his name. We all looked over, and, well...if You-Know-Who hadn't just disapparated in front of our eyes, we wouldn't've believed it was possible."  
  
'Sirius Black, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly murdering 13 people on the night He Who Must Not Be Names diappeared, escaped from Azkaban three years ago. Since that time, he has evaded arrest, knowing that one day the truth would be revealed.'  
  
SEE TOMORROW'S DAILY PROPHET FOR MORE ON THE STORY OF SIRIUS BLACK.  
  
'Ha!' Sirius laughed, 'they managed to create a whole article on "the truth" when they don't even know what the truth is! Just because Dumbledore said I'm a good guy, I'm a hero now, am I?'  
  
'Apparently so', Remus mused, 'how things change!'  
  
'I don't want to be a hero', Sirius said quietly, 'I don't want people to hear about...y'know. All I really want is to have my magic back, and get revenge on those Death Eaters for laying a finger on Harry and his friends.'  
  
'Join the queue', everyone said at once.  
  
'Let's make a pact', Sirius said suddenly, 'none of us will rest until we've had our revenge.'  
  
Fred and George nodded at once. Arthur shook his head at them. 'You're not in the Order', he said sternly, 'you can't be involved.'  
  
'Excuse us!' George cried indignantly, 'Harry's our mate too, and Ron and Ginny are family! We'll take whatever revenge we please. You might want us in this pact though, otherwise you dunno what we'l be getting up to.'  
  
'Fine', Arthur hissed, 'but don't tell your mother, or she'll kill me!'  
  
Remus knew the drill. He pulled out his wand, and took a long, golden phoenix feather from above the fire, and laid them on the table in the shape of an 'X'. All five men placed a hand in the centre of the X.  
  
'We solemnly swear', Sirius said loudly.  
  
'We solemnly swear', his four comrades echoed.  
  
'That we shall not rest until we have avenged the deaths of all those who have died at the hands of Voledmort and his followers.'  
  
Again, his words were softly repeated.  
  
'No matter what the consequences are for us.' Sirius proclaimed determinedly.  
  
'No matter what the consequences are for us.'  
  
'We swear.'  
  
We swear. 


	4. Among Friends

'Ah! Sirius! Excellent timing! Four o'clock precisely!'  
  
Sirius smiled at Dumbledore, and stepped out of the fire, followed closely by Remus.  
  
Dumbledore looked at them, a twinkle in his eye. 'I understand Severus Snape will not be joining us for another while.'  
  
'Yeah', Sirius replied nonchalantly, 'he's temporarily indisposed.'  
  
Dumbledore tried to look stern, but failed. He sat down behind his desk, hands folded. 'Harry will be along in a moment. I asked Minerva to fetch him.'  
  
Sirius gazed around the office; it was years since he had been in here. The portaits of headmasters stared down at him in disbelief.  
  
'Is that my great-great-grandson? Sirius Black? Dumbledore, what in Merlin's name is he doing here?' Phineas Nigellus exclaimed, leaning forward in his seat in a portrait to peer down at Sirius.  
  
'Hullo, Phineas', Sirius waved cheekily.  
  
'Sirius has been pardoned, Phineas. He is a free man.' Dumbledore explained.  
  
Phineas' jaw dropped. He looked pleased for a split second, then covered it up with a frown. 'Well, thank goodness I won't have to stare at his miserable face all day long in Grimmauld Place any more.'  
  
'Nice to see you too, Phineas', Sirius yawned, sitting back in his chair.  
  
There was a knock on the door. Sirius shot out of his chair, and looked expectantly at Dumbledore, who called 'come!'  
  
The door was pushed open, and a skinny, pale teenage boy, with untidy black hair and an unusual scar on his forehead entered. He took in the three wizards in front of him with one glance, and shouted 'Sirius!'  
  
'Harry! How're you feeling...after everything that happened?' Sirius hugged his godson tightly. He felt Harry sighing deeply.  
  
'I'm sorry, Sirius', he said, pulling away to look at his godfather, 'You could've died because of me. Hermione said I like playing the hero, and I think she was right. Professor Lupin! Thank you, for coming to help. Is Tonk's all right? And what about Kingsley, and Moody?'  
  
'They'll be fine', Remus replied, grinning at Harry, 'yes, Harry, I think you do have a tendency to play the hero. But there's nothing wrong with that-Sirius has done a bit of it in his time, haven't you Padfoot?'  
  
Sirius smiled and shrugged. 'S'pose. Anyway Harry, you didn't answer my question. Are you okay?'  
  
Harry looked up at Sirius and made a face. 'Professor Dumbledore told me some stuff last night', he mumbled.  
  
'Oh? What sort of stuff?' Sirius knew the answer to the question, but wanted Harry to tell him himself.  
  
'About the Prophecy.' Harry whispered. He looked from Remus to Dumbledore, then back to Sirius, a meaningful look in his eyes. Remus and the headmaster took the hint at once.  
  
'Sirius, perhaps you and Harry could go for a walk around the grounds? You have a lot to discuss, and I'm sure you don't want us two old nosy parkers listening', Dumbledore said briskly. Remus nodded, and Sirius smiled gratefully.  
  
'Okay, er...we'll be back in about an hour...Harry, shall we?'  
  
Harry nodded, and they left Dumbledore's office. They were halfway down the stairs when Harry laughed out loud. Sirius stopped and looked at him. 'What's up?'  
  
Harry grinned. 'It just feels brilliant being able to go somewhere without you having to turn into a dog, or hide in the shadows.'  
  
'Yeah', Sirius agreed. The last time he had been in Hogwarts, it was the dead of night, and he was plotting a murder. Now, while the school corridors were devoid of students (classes were in progress), the summer sunshine was streaming through the windows, and Sirius' heart was light.  
  
They wandered out into the grounds, and Harry began to talk about all the events of the previous day. Sirius was astonished that Harry cared about him so much! He listened intently to Harry's account of the prophecy, and mulled it over for some time before speaking.  
  
'Y'know Harry, it seems to me like we all knew that was gonna have to happen some time anyway.'  
  
Harry looked surprised. 'What d'you mean?'  
  
'Well', Sirius began, 'you're the only one ever to survive Voldemort's attack. I don't even think Dumbeldore would live, if Voldemort fired a Killing Curse right at him, when he was unarmed. You're different-you've got a power inside you that Voldemort doesn't understand. I think I always knew you'd be the one to destroy him-well, ever since you nearly killed him fifteen years ago.'  
  
'I hadn't thought of it like that', Harry said, a smiling spreading across his face. 'Hey, Sirius, d'you want to have a fly around the grounds, while nobody's watching? Just summon any old broom from a cupboard. ACCIO FIREBOLT!'  
  
Ah. The moment had come. A part of Sirius wanted to tell the expectant Harry that he could not summon a broom from the castle-he was doubtful whether he could even ride a broom anymore! But the rest of him felt ashamed and embarrassed at this weakness. Anyway, it would only upset Harry even more.  
  
'I seem to have forgotten my wand', he lied poorly, 'will you summon me one, Harry? Mind you, I'll be awful, I haven't flown in a very long time.'  
  
'You haven't lost your wand, have you?' Harry questioned, summoning a second broom from the castle, 'I didn't see it last night, after you feel through the arch. Mr Weasley could probably get it back for you, if you dropped it in the Department of Mysteries.' Harry shivered as he mentioned the place. So did Sirius, but for an entirely different reason. He took the broom from Harry, and mounted it. Praying that the broom would not refuse to move (because magic brooms don't like to take orders from Muggles or squibs), he kicked off from the ground as hard as he could.  
  
And he was flying.  
  
Sirius had forgotten how smooth and fluid the movements of a broomstick were-he had gotten used to the bumpy journeys, clinging to the neck of a hippogriff. He soared up, and up, the wind whipping through his long hair, the sun on his face.  
  
This, surely, was bliss! He could fly! His fears that his loss of powers would not allow him to control any magical objects dissolved within seconds. He could fly! Clever broom, he thought. It must recognise that I'm a wizard.  
  
Because despite the fact that he could not cast his own spells or make his own potions, Sirius knew he was still a part of the wizarding community.  
  
'Woooooooooooooooohoooooooooooooooooooo!' He let out a long whoop of joy. Harry, behind him, imitated him. Sirius started to show off, his old skill on a broomstick returning very quickly. He did loop-the-loops, hung upside by his knees, rode with no hands, spun around in circles, and nose-dived, while Harry clapped enthusiastically.  
  
'I don't care what Hermione says', Sirius bellowed, 'your heroics got me my freedom back! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand touchdown!' Sirius hopped lightly off his broom as he reached the ground, exhilerated. Harry landed next to him, beaming.  
  
And so, with their brooms over their shoulders, Padfoot and Potter trudged back up to Hogwarts Castle.  
  
'Come visit Ron and the others!' Harry cried eagerly. Sirius agreed to do so, and they jogged through the school to the hospital wing. When they got to the door, Harry ran ahead. Sirius heard him shout 'guess who I've brought!'  
  
Before anyone could guess, Sirius sauntered in, his hands in his pockets, whistling carelessly.  
  
Five excited shrieks of 'SIRIUS' almost deafened him. Ginny shot up from her place on Hermione's bed and hurtled over to him. Ron, whose arms were covered in deep wounds, hobbled over, ignoring Hermione's orders to get back into bed.  
  
'How does it feel to be free?' He asked, grinning.  
  
'Funny, everyone's asking me that, and I don't really know', Sirius replied, helping Ron back to bed, 'I haven't really been out yet. I think I'll put in an appearance in Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley tomorrow. See what public opinion's like.'  
  
'My granny always did say she thought you were a nice boy', Neville remarked, smiling happily at Sirius. Luna Lovegood gazed at him dreamily, while Hermione had discarded the Daily Prophet and was listening eagerly to Sirius' every word.  
  
'I'm glad someone had faith in me. Let me guess, Frank and Alice Longbottom's son...Neville, isn't it?'  
  
'Yeah, that's me', Neville replied proudly.  
  
'Nice to meet you. Ron, Harry told me all about the brains! That can't have been nice.'  
  
Ron shuddered. 'It felt awful...seeing all those people's thoughts...ugh.'  
  
'You're lucky you survived.' Sirius told him gravely.  
  
They were interrupted by Madam Pomfrey, who bustled in and stopped short when she spotted Sirius.  
  
'Sirius Black!' She whispered, letting the bandages in her arms unroll, 'Sirius...I...Oh! I'm so sorry I ever thought you were one of You-Know- Who's followers!'  
  
'That's all right, I won't hold it against you', Sirius responded cheekily, 'I'll never forget the time I grew an extra leg and you spent three weeks trying to remove it!'  
  
Madam Pomfrey blushed and airily waved a hand at Sirius. 'Just don't keep my patients awake. They need to heal! And if you get in my way, I promise I'll give you that third leg back!'  
  
Sirius saluted as a way of acknowledging the matron. He spotted Professor Umbridge, lying in a bed at the other end of the wing. He raised an eyebrow. 'Is that the infamous Umbridge?' He asked Harry, who nodded.  
  
'Hmph', Sirius snorted. Checking to see if Madam Pomfrey was watching, he crept over to Umbridge, and tapped her hard on the cheek. She moaned, and opened her eyes.  
  
'I hear you're not one of my biggest fans', Sirius said, looking as threatening as he could.  
  
'AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!' Shrieked Umbridge, shooting up in bed and waving her arms about to protect herself.  
  
'Oops', Sirius said quietly.  
  
'BLACK! SIRIUS BLACK! GET HIM! GET HIIIIIM!'  
  
'Better run! C'mon Harry!' Sirius sprinted past Madam Pomfrey's office, to the hysterical screams of Umbridge and the laughter from Ron and the others, Harry hot on his heels.  
  
Sirius and Harry didn't stop running until they reached the Entrance Hall. A few students were making their way towards the Great Hall. One or two noticed Sirius, and pointed at him, mouths wide open. Sirius and Harry leaned casually against the front door, enjoying, for once, all the attention that was focussed on them.  
  
'Sirius Black...how'd you get out of Azkaban?' Dean Thomas asked in wonderment, when he caught sight of the famous fugitive.  
  
Sirius grinned. 'That's for me to know and you to fry your brain figuring out.'  
  
'Who's your scruffy friend, Potter? Some tramp Weasley made friends with?'  
  
Sirius did not turn around. He glanced sideways at Harry, who had clenched his fists, and was about to swing around. He placed a restraining hand on his godson's shoulder.  
  
'You must be Draco Malfoy', Sirius said to the empty space in front of him, wanting to time this moment perfectly, 'you sound like a cross between your scumbag Death Eater father, and your whinging, irritating mother.'  
  
He turned to face Draco Malfoy. The unpleasant smirk fell from Draco's face, and he almost went green.  
  
'Sirius Black', he gasped, stepping away hurriedly.  
  
'Yup', Sirius said, rolling up his sleeves, 'and I don't appreciate the way you've been treating Harry. Or his friends for that matter. Anybody want to see me REALLY commit murder?' He leered nastily at Draco, who made a peculiar choking noise, whimpered, and fled to the dungeons.  
  
Seamus Finnigan started it. He clapped his hands together slowly, in admiration. Dean, Harry, Lavender and Parvati joined in after a moment. Soon, all the students gathered in the hallway were applauding the man their parents had used a sort of bogey man for years. Professors MacGonagall and Flitwick, as well as Remus and Albus Dumbledore came onto the landing above, and joined in the cheering. The Slytherins sneaked away, muttering to themselves, but Sirius did not care. He stood in the hallway of his old school, and for the first time in his almost sixteen years, he was safe, among friends. 


	5. Public Appearance

Dumbledore invited Sirius and Remus to stay for dinner- Professors MacGonagall and Flitwick gave up their seats next to Dumbledore, as these were the places of honour. It felt strange to Sirius, to be sitting at the staff table in his old school, after everything he had been through. Every person who caught his eye had a smile or a wave for him. Rubeus Hagrid gave him a huge wink, and the thumbs-up.  
  
When everyone had finished eating, Professor Dumbledore stood up, and Remus groaned and rolled his eyes. Sirius did the same-he had hoped that Dumbledore would not refer to his presence at all.  
  
'Gryffindors, Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws!' Dumbledore said loudly, gazing around at his students, 'this is an historic day!'  
  
'Here we go', Remus muttered, behind Dumbledore's back, 'I know he's a great wizard and everything, but he does tend to go on a bit...'  
  
Sirius nodded in agreement. This, however, was one speech he did want to hear.  
  
'Yesterday afternoon, a Gryffindor student risked everything to save someone who was very dear to him.'  
  
All eyes turned towards Harry, who was staring intently at the ceiling.  
  
'However', Dumbledore continued, 'he was not alone. Four of his fellow Gryffindors, and a Ravneclaw pupil, came willingly to his aid. Because of these six young men and women, several dangerous Death Eaters were captured, and it was finally proved to the Minister for Magic that Lord Voldemort has returned.'  
  
There was a sharp intake of breath at this. Harry met Sirius' eyes and made a face. His godfather smiled, then looked back to Dumbledore again.  
  
'While the deed was rash and careless, the boy's motives were noble and unselfish. With no regard whatsoever for his own safety-or for school rules, I might add-he set out to help another, not knowing it was a trap. But, all's well that ends well, as old William Shakespeare would say, and thanks to Mr Potter, Mr and Miss Weasley, Miss Granger, Mr Longbottom and Miss Lovegood, some decisive action will now be taken against Lord Voldemort.'  
  
There was a round of applause, during which Harry turned bright red, and placed his head in his hands. But Dumbledore was not finished.  
  
'Harry's actions yesterday did effect one other person also', he announced.  
  
Sirius began to study his fingernails, aware that all eyes were now upon him.  
  
'Sitting on my right is Sirius Black', Dumbledore continued slowly, 'an old pupil and friend of mine. For the past sixteen years, he has been punished for the crimes committed by another. But no more. Today, Sirius Black, you are a free man, and you are owed many an apology. I myself must apologise to you, for I too believed you were a traitor.'  
  
' 'S'all right', Sirius mumbled, avoiding Dumbledore's eyes.  
  
'Excellent', Dumbledore exclaimed, 'and one more thing-on my left sits a familiar figure-Professor Remus Lupin. I believe', he said, glancing casually around, 'that Professor Umbridge is no longer in a fit state to hold her position in the Ministry for Magic. I shall personally see to it that any bans on employing fine men such as Professor Lupin, shall be lifted at once. Remus, if you would care to join my staff again, I would delighted to have you teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts next year.'  
  
'Cool!' Dean Thomas cried loudly. Everybody laughed, and clapped. Lupin had been the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in years, and had been sorely missed.  
  
Remus' jaw dropped. 'Are you serious?' He whispered to Dumbledore. The headmaster smiled benignly, and nodded.  
  
'Well', Remus was trying to not laugh out loud with joy, 'in that case, Professor Dumbledore, I accept your offer!'  
  
'Marvellous!' Dumbledore cried, 'now, to bed, all of you, I have kept you long enough!'  
  
Sirius and Remus embraced each other.  
  
'Congrats, Moony', Sirius said sincerely.  
  
'Welcome back to the free world', Remus replied equally seriously. They looked at each other, and burst out laughing.  
  
This day just kept getting better and better!  
  
*********************  
  
'Oh my-Sirius, c'mere, quick, look at this!'  
  
Sirius stopped trying to mend his robes by hand, and hurried over to Remus. 'What is it?'  
  
He leaned over Remus' shoulder, and read the headline on the Daily Prophet:  
  
FUDGE FLEES IN SHAME! NEW MINISTER FOR MAGIC TO BE ANNOUNCED LATER TODAY!  
  
'Fudge is gone!' Sirius cried gleefully, studying a picture of the Minister running away from a reporter, his lime green bowler hat pulled down well over his eyes.  
  
'His ministers are all out too', Remus remarked, reading on through the article, 'it's up to the new minister to decide who he wants to hire and who he wants to fire.'  
  
'Let's hope it's someone a bit more open-minded, and a bit less anti- Dumbledore', Sirius replied, doing a little jig on the spot, 'things aren't too bad at the moment, are they Moony?'  
  
'We're on a winning streak', Remus agreed, grinning, 'how'd you like to visit Diagon Alley, make a public appearance?'  
  
'Hmmm', Sirius wasn't enthusiastic, 'what if somebody realises I can't do magic?'  
  
'They won't', Remus assured him, 'nobody's likely to ask you to cast a spell for them, are they? Anyway, you can say you lost your wand if you get into a difficult position.'  
  
'S'pose', Sirius replied doubtfully. He looked around at the dreary basement kitchen of his mother's house, and made up his mind. 'Yeah, I'll come.' He said, 'can I borrow a set of robes? Mine are all tatty and horrible.'  
  
'Course', Remus said amiably. Sirius saw his expression change to one of amusement, as he looked towards the kitchen door. Sirius turned around, and couldn't help letting out a snort of laughter.  
  
Severus Snape was standing in the doorway, dressed in his usual gloomy black robes. There was a large lump in the middle of his now slightly crooked, and hooked nose. He had two black eyes, and a bandage around his head. He did not look one bit happy.  
  
'Look what the cat dragged in', Sirius remarked, sniggering.  
  
'Oh don't worry, Black', Severus said softly, his lip curling, 'I never would have expected anything more from you-you always did have a nasty temper. No self control.'  
  
'Oh stop it Severus', Sirius pretended to sob on Remus' shoulder, 'words can hurt too, y'know!'  
  
'I swear', Snape hissed, stepping forwards suddenly, 'I'll make you regret this, Black.'  
  
'Y'know something, Remus?' Sirius said thoughtfully, 'I always wondered whether I'd be able to beat Severus in a fair duel. Now I know I don't even need magic to beat him. Dumbledore said to tell you that if you need another day of, er, recuperation, that's fine with him, Snape.'  
  
'I was just about to leave', Snape replied stiffly, heading for the fireplace, glowering at Sirius all the way.  
  
'Good', Sirius cried cheerfully, 'don't let the flames burn you on the way out!'  
  
And without a backward glance, he sprinted up the stairs, followed by Remus, feeling triumphant once more.  
  
****************  
  
The moment Sirius stepped into the Leaky Cauldron, the pub fell silent. One or two people looked apprehensive, but most just looked astounded. Sirius supposed that if he suddenly saw Peter Pettigrew standing in front of him, having been proclaimed an honest, free man, he might be a bit shocked too.  
  
'Two Firewhiskeys please', Remus said. Tom, the landlord nodded wordlessly, still staring at Sirius.  
  
Sirius was just beginning to wonder whether this had been a good idea or not, when an elderly wizard with a long white beard shuffled over, and grasped his hand tightly.  
  
'It's good to see you, Black', he said jovially, 'always thought you were guilty myself, but well done for proving us all wrong!'  
  
'Er...thanks, I think', Sirius replied, smiling at the old man.  
  
A pretty witch in her late twenties or early thirties, approached him timidly. 'I was in first year when you were in seventh year', she told him, shifting nervously from foot to foot, 'me and all my friends...well, we always thought you looked like a nice person.'  
  
'Thank you', Sirius replied, smiling warmly. It was always nice to hear something like that, and in Sirius' case, very rare.  
  
After that, everybody in the pub crowded around him, congratulating him, apologising, praising him, or just to shake hands. One young witch came over, blushing furiously, and offered him a bunch of flowers, which he accepted gratefully.  
  
'Still got it, Moony.' He said out of the side of his mouth, grinning.  
  
'Obviously', Remus responded, sipping his whiskey, watching the scene with amusement.  
  
It was almost an hour before Sirius was allowed to leave the pub, and go on to Diagon Alley. Word had obviously spread that he was on his way, because as soon as he stepped onto the street, a crowd of people bore down on him. Cameras flashed and people cheered. Sirius spotted Rita Skeeter standing just beyond the crowd, waiting to nab him for an interview.  
  
'That Skeeter woman's waiting for me', he said quietly to Remus, as a middle-aged woman thrust a box of chocolates into his hands.  
  
'Well, we'll just have to avoid her. 'Scuse me please, excuse me, I need to get through, if you could just let us past...thanks, c'mon Sirius.' Remus physically dragged his friend through the crowd, much to Sirius' relief.  
  
'Thanks', he gasped, brushing his hair out of his eyes. Then he caught sight of himself in a shop window. He made a face. 'I look like a monster', he complained.  
  
Remus' expression brightened. 'Why don't we step into Madam Malkin's? Get you some new robes? Then you could get a haircut, have a bite to eat...nobody'll recognise you once you've got cleaned up a bit!'  
  
'You think so?' Sirius asked thoughtfully. It would be nice to see himself looking more like he had in the pre-Azkaban years.  
  
'Come on, you'll look a lot better in no time!'  
  
******  
  
Sirius stared at himself in the mirror in Madam Malkin's Robes shop. His hair was clean, and very short. He had washed his face in a public bathroom, and was now wearing a set of fine, dark blue velvet robes. Remus too, had cleaned himself up-if it wasn't for the huge circles under his eyes, and the grey in his hair, Sirius could have believed he was ten years younger.  
  
'You shouldn't have bought me these', Remus admonished, looking at his new robes with pride.  
  
'Yes I should', Sirius contradicted, 'I owe you. Remember that time when you found me with Harry and Hermione and Ron, in the Shrieking Shack? You could've killed me then, and I wouldn't've blamed you. You looked out for Harry as best you could while I was on the run, and I appreciate that. And all I've done in return is spend a bit of my gold on new robes for you!'  
  
Remus shrugged, and smiled tiredly. 'It's a full moon tonight', he sighed, exiting the shop with Sirius and gazing up at the cloudy sky.  
  
'Is it?' Sirius groaned, 'I've lost complete track of time! You've got the potion haven't you?'  
  
Remus nodded. 'Plenty of it.'  
  
They sauntered down the street, gazing into the shops as they passed. Sirius frowned as he passed Ollivander's wand shop. 'I'll never need to go in there again', he said softly, making a face.  
  
'Lucky you', Remus commented, 'that man gives me the chills!'  
  
Less people recognised Sirius now that he no longer looked like a cross between a nutcase and a vampire. The two friends were even able to walk past Rita Skeeter without her noticing!  
  
As they approached the Daily Prophet offices, they noticed a huge crowd gathering around the door.  
  
'What's up?' Remus asked one of the people, a young wizard, who was jumping up and down, trying to see what was going on.  
  
'It's the new Minister for Magic', he told them, 'it's been announced who he is!'  
  
Sirius and Remus looked at each other, then pushed savagely to the front of the crowd. A copy of the Daily Prophet had been pinned to the door of the building. They stopped dead, unable to believe their eyes.  
  
Smiling down at them from the front of the paper was an ecstatic-looking Arthur Weasley. 


	6. St Mungo's

'Arthur', Sirius whispered, stunned.  
  
'Weasley!' Remus gasped. Simultaneously, both men cheered loudly, and grinned.  
  
'I bet you ten thousand galleons old Mad-Eye had something to do with this!' Remus cried.  
  
Several other people in the crowd were looking pleased too.  
  
'Let's 'ope he does summink about them Dementors', one woman remarked cynically, 'they're gettin' outta hand.'  
  
'Sirius! Sirius Black!' Rita Skeeter had pushed her way viciously through the crowd, and now stood only inches away from Sirius, her Quick-Quotes quill at the ready.  
  
'What d'you want?' Sirius asked sullenly, fully aware that everyone in the crowd was now gazing at him.  
  
'I was just wondering how you feel about the new Minister for Magic?' Rita asked brightly, 'after all, the old one made your life a misery for quite some time, am I correct?'  
  
Sirius scowled as a bald man with a camera started to take photos of him from every angle. He looked at Remus, wondering whether he should answer.  
  
'It's your call', Remus said quietly, shrugging.  
  
Sirius decided to answer. 'I knew Arthur Weasley well before my imprisonment in Azkaban', he began. He had better not mention knowing Arthur since he escaped, as it would only cause trouble for the new Minister. 'I always liked him a lot. He deserve to be Minister for Magic, and I think he'll make an excellent job of it.'  
  
'Excellent! And Sirius, can you tell us a little something about what you did between your escape from Azkaban and your official acquittal yesterday?' Rita asked eagerly.  
  
Sirius laughed and shook his head. 'You never did know when to stop, Ms Skeeter. If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be...'  
  
'One last question, Mr Black!' Rita called after him, 'can you tell us exactly what happened in the Ministry headquarters yesterday afternoon?'  
  
Sirius turned and faced the nosy reporter. He took a deep breath before answering.  
  
'I would have to say', he replied coolly, 'that I definitely will not comment. Nor will anyone else, so you can forget that story!'  
  
'Who's this fine man who's accompanying you?' Rita screeched, as Sirius and Remus picked up speed. Remus threw the answer to that quetsion over his shoulder.  
  
'I'm Remus Lupin, and I'll be a werewolf tonight, so I wouldn't get on my bad side if I were you!'  
  
'Oh!' Rita's shrill squeal could be heard from half-way down the street.  
  
'I can see the headline now', Sirius murmured, 'Black's Back in Bad Company- Fraternising with Werewolf in Public Area.'  
  
'You're probably right', Remus replied ruefully, 'I souldn't've said that.'  
  
Sirius snorted. 'They turned me into a hero over night-if they want me to be a villain again, they'd find a way eventually. I don't care what they think about who I spend my time with. It's nobody's business except mine.'  
  
'S'pose. Want to visit Kingsley and the others? Molly's probably with them, we can congratulate her.'  
  
Sirius agreed, and they hurried onwards to the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
The two friends headed towards the entrance to St Mungo's, after stuffing their robes back into the packaging-velvet wizard's robes would bring Muggle attention on them, for all the wrong reasons!  
  
When they reached the dusty, dilapidated shop which was the entrance to St Mungo's, Remus pressed his nose against the glass and whispered to the old mannikin in the window. 'Good morning. We're here to visit Kingsley Shacklebot, Nymphadora Tonks, and Alastor Moody, if he's still in there.'  
  
The dummy nodded briefly, and beckoned them forwards. They stepped through the glass, and found themselves standing in the reception area of St Mungo's Hospital.  
  
The place was crowded, as usual. There were a lot of Ministry representatives loitering around anxiously, obviously waiting for news of their injured colleagues.  
  
'I wonder if they know whether they're out of their jobs yet', Remus muttered, as they approached the reception desk.  
  
'Er...excuse me...what floor are Kingsley Shacklebot, Nymphadora Tonks and Alastor Moody on?' Sirius asked the witch at the desk.  
  
She sighed heavily, as though his simple question was creating a massive chore for her, and bent over a long sheet of parchment.  
  
'Ah', she said, in hushed tones, 'they're the three aurors who stopped those Death-Eaters the other day-hang on a minute! You're Sirius Black, aren't you?'  
  
Sirius raised his eyes to heaven. 'Yeah', he hissed, 'I am, but can you keep it quiet? I want to see my friends, and it'll be hard to do that if I've got a load of people trailing after me.'  
  
The witch gazed at him in awe, until Remus coughed politely. She glared at him, then smiled sweetly at Sirius again, before referring to her list again.  
  
'Mr Shacklebot and Mr Moody are in the Flamel Ward, on the fourth floor. Miss Tonks is in the room next to them, on the Morris Ward. Don't stay too long, the healers want them to get plenty of rest. Enjoy your visit, Mr Black, and you too, Mr, er....yes, well, have fun!'  
  
'Have fun?' Remus echoed incredulously, 'what does she think this is, a theme park?'  
  
They hurried up to the fourth floor, and decided to visit Kingsley and Mad- Eye first. The Flamel Ward was a small room, with only four beds in it- Kingsely and Mad-Eye were next to each other. Mad-Eye, who was reading a pamphlet on 'What to do if you're turning into a hippogriff', leapt up as soon as he spotted Sirius and Remus.  
  
'Why are you still in here, Mad-Eye?' Remus asked quietly, aware that the rest of the patients were trying to sleep.  
  
Mad-Eye, on the other hand, had no consideration. 'This damn cut on my head', he barked, making the man in the bed opposite him wake up, 'apparently it's quite. I've got concussion or some other ridiculous thing wrong with me too. All nonsense of course, but, y'know, it's best to humour these healers.'  
  
He put out a hand to steady himself. Sirius fought against the urge to laugh. 'It looks like a bad concussion, Moody, if you can't even stand upright', he teased. Moody grunted and fixed him with his beady eye.  
  
'How's Kingsley?' Remus asked, moving down the ward towards the other auror.  
  
Moody shook his head sadly. 'It's not looking too good', he told them, 'there's nothin' more they can do for him, they're just gonna let nature take its course. But I swear, if Shacklebot snuffs it, I'll kill every one of those filthy, mangy sons of-  
  
'MISTER Moody, get back into bed this INSTANT!'  
  
A plump, red-faced, middle-aged woman had bustled into the room, and was glaring at Moody, her hands on her hips. Her name badge identified her as 'Healer Dobsworth'. Sirius watched with interest, expecting Moody to tell her-in no uncertain terms-where to go. He wasn't disappointed.  
  
'I'll do as I damn well please, woman!' The ageing auror bellowed, in a voice loud enough to wake the dead. (Though, as Sirius observed Kingsley remained unconscious.)  
  
'Alastor Moody, this is my ward, and you are my patient, whether you like it or not!' Healer Dobsworth shrieked.  
  
'Please!' Remus hissed, 'keep it down!'  
  
Nobody paid any attention to him.  
  
'Go and pester someone else', Moody roared, standing his ground (with a little support from Sirius).  
  
The healer glared at Moody in disgust, then glanced at Remus and Sirius. She did a double take.  
  
'Sirius Black?' She gasped, taking a quick step backwards.  
  
'Yup', Sirius yawned, 'that's me.'  
  
'Are you...do you...are you a friend of Mr Moody?' She finished at last, eyebrows almost disappearing into her hairline.  
  
'Yup.' Sirius responded again.  
  
Healer Dobsworth's jaw dropped. 'Well', she said, after a long time, 'Mr Moody, I would advise you to get into bed at once, if you're to have any hope of being discharged today.' And with that, she turnd on her heel, and marched out again.  
  
'Thank God she's gone. Wait 'til you hear about Rita Skeeter, Mad-Eye! Mad- Eye?' Sirius and Remus stared at Moody, but he was oblivious to them. He was too busy gazing fondly after Healer Dobsworth.  
  
'A fine woman', he grunted, limping back to his bed, ' a fine, fine woman. Used to go to school with me. Fine woman. Never got married-no idea why, a fine woman like her.'  
  
Sirius caught Remus' eye, and they very nearly burst out laughing. Remus was shaking with suppressed chuckles! 'Why don't you tell her what a fine woman she is?' Remus asked innocently.  
  
Moody suddenly became very interested in an orange juice stain on his sheet. 'Well', he mumbled, 'that'd be very forward...I dunno...probably already...nah...yes, well...anyway, what were you saying about Rita Skeeter?'  
  
Sirius and Remus took it in turns to tell the story of everything that had happened since leaving the Ministry headquarters. When they told Moody about Arthur Weasley, he didn't look one bit surprised.  
  
'I knew Fudge wouldn't last long, once he had Dumbledore kicked out of Hogwarts, and just about every association he ever joined. So I called in a few favours', he told them, 'told everyone I knew that Arthur Weasley'd make a better Minister than anyone-yes, including Dumbledore. All the Order members voted for him, of course, and I did a lot of campaigning in my own department and the Magical Sports and Games section...plus, the public like him, so I knew they'd never try and have a public vote held. Oh yes, there'll be a lot of changes, now Arthur's in charge.'  
  
'I knew you'd helped!' Remus grinned, 'speaking of Arthur, is Molly around?'  
  
'As far as I know, she's with Tonks. She said she'd pop in and say goodbye for she left.' Moody replied.  
  
'We'd better go and have a chat with Tonks', Sirius remarked, 'as soon as you get out of this place, come to Grimmauld Place, okay?'  
  
'Right you are', Moody grunted, picking up his pamphlet again.  
  
Healer Dobsworth was standing at the nurses' station, reading through Moody's file. Sirius just couldn't resist temptation.  
  
'Hullo, Healer Dobsworth', he said, smiling brightly, 'checking to see if old Mad-Eye's got a wife down for his next of kin?'  
  
He had, it appeared, hit the nail on the head, as Healer Dobsworth turned bright red, and dropped the file onto the desk. 'Can I help you, Mr Black?' She asked grumpily.  
  
'No, not really', Sirius repsonded airily, 'but I really think you and Alastor should have a chat. It seems to me you've got quite a lot in common.'  
  
He jogged to catch up with Remus, who looked mortified. But just before they walked in to Tonks' ward, he called over his shoulder, 'plus, he's absolutely CRAZY about you.'  
  
The two friends burst into the room, laughing at Sirius' crude attempts at matchmaking.  
  
'Shhhhhh!!!!' Molly Weasley hissed furiously, from Tonks' bedside.  
  
'Oh, leave them alone Molly, this place needs a bit of life!' Tonks was sitting up in bed, looking pale and tired, but alert. Her hair was short and bright green at the moment, as she smiled happily at her two visitors.  
  
'Molly', Sirius chided at once, 'how come you didn't let us know the news?'  
  
Molly stared at them blankly. 'What news?'  
  
'Y-you don't know about Arthur?' Remus asked, perplexed.  
  
Molly jumped out of her seat, wide-eyed. 'What's happened to Arthur?' She asked wildly, 'is he all right? He's not here, is he? What's going on?'  
  
'You can do the honours, Sirius', Remus said, smiling at Molly's anguish.  
  
'Within the last hour', Sirius announced, with all the pomposity he could muster, 'your husband, Arthur Weasley, has been declared the new Minister for Magic.'  
  
Molly's face was a sight to see. She went white, then purple, then red, all in the space of a few seconds. Her eyes were almost popping out of her head, and she swayed on the spot. Remus caught her just in time.  
  
'Arthur', she gasped, 'Arthur is Minister? MY HUSBAND IS MINISTER?!'  
  
'According to the Daily Prophet, he is!' Remus assured her.  
  
The shrieking and insane dancing that ensued brought four healers to the door of the ward, Healer Dobsworth leading the charge.  
  
'What is all this racket?' She cried angrily. Then, she noticed Remus and Sirius.  
  
'You two have done nothing but excite my patients and make noise since you arrived!' She hissed, 'out! Both of you! And you! Yes, Mrs Weasley, I knwo your husband is Minister, but there are a lot of very ill people on this floor, and your screams are not helping them to heal! Out! Now!'  
  
'Aw Healer Dobsworth, leave them alone!' Tonks pleaded, 'let them stay, I need people to talk to, otherwise I'll get bored!'  
  
'Nymphadora Tonks, don't you dare argue with me! Now come along, good sirs, and Mrs Weasley, out! At once!'  
  
And so the giggling, delighted trio were thrown out of St Mungo's, back onto the Muggle high street. Molly sighed deeply. 'Well', she hiccuped, 'I suppose I'd better go and see this husband of mine!' And she disapparated.  
  
'Wish I could still do that', Sirius murmured wistfully. Remus clapped him on the back. 'C'mon, let's go back to Diagon Alley-we can get back home by the Floo network.'  
  
They headed slowly back towards The Leaky Cauldron. They hadn't been walking for long, when Sirius felt something sticky on the sole of his shoe.  
  
'Urgh!' He groaned, hopping on one foot to examine the bottom of his shoe, 'chewing gum! These Muggles are disgusting!'  
  
'Shh', Remus hissed, 'don't use the 'M' word around the 'M's!'  
  
Sirius wasn't listening. He delicately picked the chewing gum off his shoe, and looked for somewhere to put it.  
  
They were standing in front of an alleyway, at the end of which Sirius could make out two trash cans.  
  
'Just gonna chuck this stuff in the bin', he told Remus, and headed down the alleyway, while Remus leaned against the wall and waited for him.  
  
He deposited the gum in one of the bins, after prising it off his fingers. Muttering in disgust, he turned around and made to go back to the main street.  
  
A masked, hooded Death-Eater stood in his way.  
  
'Rem-' Sirius started to shout. He didn't get time to finish his friend's name, before the black-robed figure raised his wand, and in a voice that Sirius knew well, cried 'Crucio!'  
  
Sirius had had the Cruciatus Curse performed on his before, but he didn't remember the pain being this dreadful: He felt as though his bones were on fire, and being smashed into hundreds of sharp pieces. It pierced him right through, until he no longer knew who or where he was. All he wanted was to die, and not have to feel this pain anymore. He heard somebody screaming, and it took him several seconds to realise it was himself.  
  
His attacker was merciless. They held the spell for so long that Sirius wondered if he had actually died and gone to hell. He managed to look up at the man who was slowly destroying him. Sirius realised that he was going to die, but this time there would be no coming back. Just before he lost consciousness, the Death Eater allowed his mask to slip, and Sirius found himself looking straight at Peter Pettigrew. 


	7. Remus is a Hero

'He doesn't look too good.'  
  
'That's the understatement of the year.'  
  
'Did I look that bad in the Ministry Headquarters?'  
  
'Almost. But seriously, did they say he'll be all right?'  
  
'Maybe. 'Course, they dunno what they're on about, do they? We need to get him to St Mungo's.'  
  
'How are you planning on doing that?'  
  
'No idea, but I'm sure the Weasley twins will have a few.'  
  
'Try calling him again.'  
  
'Sirius! Sirius! Wake up, Sirius, please, wake up!'  
  
'Sirius, if you can hear us, just...I dunno, move your hand or something!'  
  
Sirius groaned. His body felt like it had been crushed by a steamroller, and his head was spinning. He opened his eyes a crack, and waited for the two people in front of him to come into focus. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse and came out as a croak.  
  
'Moony', he breathed. He may as well have just revaled the location of the Holy Grail, if the look on Remus' face was anything to go by. Both Remus and Tonks leapt out of their seats, and stared at him in delight; Tonks knelt down at his head, while Remus perched himself on the edge of the bed in which Sirius lay.  
  
'You're awake!' He cried happily, 'thank God, we thought we'd lost you!'  
  
Sirius' head would not stop swimming, not even for a second. He closed his eyes, and licked his dry lips. 'Where am I?' He whispered, opening one eye again, and surveying the bare, clinical room.  
  
'You're in a Muggle hospital', Tonks told him quietly, 'Remus was only discharged yesterday...he got attacked too! Of course, the Muggles brought you here, 'cos they couldn't take you to St Mungo's. Nobody here had a single clue what was wrong with you, so we got Eva Cleansweep to come and examine you. But we can tell you all that later.'  
  
'No', Sirius replied immediately, forcing himself to try and make sense of Tonks' words, 'tell me now. What happened? How long have I been here?' He tried to sit up, but Tonks and Remus gently pushed him down again.  
  
'I heard you calling me from the end of the alley. I looked, and saw a Death Eater blocking your way. I started to run towards you, but another one grabbed me from behind-they had followed us using Invisibility cloaks. I managed to shake him off, and got to you just before that Death Eater did Avada Kedavra on you. He disapparated before I could see his face. The other one was some creep I've never seen before-I covered him with his own Invisibility cloak and left him there.'  
  
Tonks tut-tutted. 'You're too modest for your own good', she teased Remus. Turning to Sirius, she took up the story; 'Remus was in a bad way-he broke his ankle and his wrist in his fight with the first Death Eater. He saved your life, Sirius. As soon as the two Death Eaters were out of the picture, he went looking for help. He didn't want to disapparate and leave you, so he asked a passing Muggle for help. She called a...what's it called? A nambulant, I think. Anyways, some Muggle doctors came and took the two of you away. That was three days ago.'  
  
'Three days?' Sirius gasped. He was feeling a good bit better now-his head had almost stopped reeling.  
  
'Yup', Tonks replied.  
  
'As Tonks was saying, Eva Cleansweep came and gave you a check-up. She says the reason the Cruciatus Curse affected you so badly was because your system was already weakened. We didn't tell her it was weak because you'd lost all your magic. She did say some stuff about how your magic levels were dangerously low, due to shock, she thought. Y'know, Muggles are affected much worse by magic than wizards are, 'cos we have that extra power inside.' Remus explained sadly.  
  
'So...' Sirius' thought process was very slow. 'Voldemort...he must know I've lost my magic, if the curse hurt me so badly that I ended up in hospital.'  
  
Tonks and Remus exchanged a worried glance. 'Yeah', Tonks replied huskily, not looking at Sirius.  
  
'Great', Sirius muttered, 'that's bloody brilliant. Does Harry know about this?'  
  
'He had to be informed that you'd had an accident', Remus told him, 'he kept asking questions about you...we couldn't really lie.'  
  
'I'm gonna go get some coffee', Tonks announced, 'anyone want anything?'  
  
'No thanks Tonks, we're fine. And don't tell anyone Sirius is conscious, otherwise there'll be so many of these mad doctor people and nurses in here we won't get a word in edgeways.' Remus said, rolling his eyes.  
  
'Ay ay, Cap'n', Tonks grinned, and exited the room.  
  
'I'm pathetic, amn't I?' Sirius said resignedly, feeling ashamed and angry.  
  
'No you're not', Remus' response was immediate, 'you're a better man than most, Sirius-you gave up your magic for your godson.'  
  
'Wish I hadn't now', Sirius retorted irritably, 'as things stand, I'll just be a horrible embarrassment to Harry-a wizard who can't do magic? At least squibs can learn, but I'll actually never be able to cast a spell again, Remus!'  
  
'Harry will never be embarrassed by you', Remus argued gently, 'speaking of whom, I understand he wants to see you, when you're ready for visitors.'  
  
'You're a visitor', Sirius pointd out, 'so I must be ready now. Ooh, I bet Snape's getting a great laugh out of this.'  
  
'I'll send Dumbledore an owl later. He can get Tonks or Moody to bring Harry over here. What is this contraption?' Remus was studying Sirius' heart monitor with great interest, 'I bet Arthur'd love to see this place! He's coming to visit tonight or tomorrow morning-he's been busy sorting out his new staff.'  
  
'Who did he choose?' Sirius struggled into a sitting position, ignoring Remus' protests.  
  
'Old Mad-Eye's his right hand man, of course', Remus began, 'Kingsley-if he comes round-will be Head of the Auror department. Amelia Bones is still in Law Enforcement. You'll never guess who's head of Sports and Games!'  
  
'Who?' Sirius asked eagerly.  
  
'Only Patrick Wood-y'know, his son plays for Puddlemere United, used be Gryffindor team captain-Oliver.'  
  
'I remember Patrick!' Sirius cried, 'stocky, muscly sort of bloke. Two years ahead of us at Hogwarts.'  
  
'That's him. Then there's Julie Cleansweep, she's in charge of Magical Transportation. Oh, and Arthur told Percy he could be his secretary if he wanted.'  
  
'What did Percy say?' Sirius asked interestedly.  
  
Remus sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. 'He cleared out his desk and stormed out of the Ministry.'  
  
'What?' Sirius was shocked. 'But...Fudge has been proved wrong! How can he still side with him?'  
  
'Apparently, he doesn't care that Fudge was wrong-it's the fact that Dumbledore was going against the law and the wishes of the Minister, and Percy's whole family supported that. He's taken it as a personal insult.'  
  
'Stupid git', Sirius growled, 'I hope he doesn't go and do anything he'll regret.'  
  
'Like what?' Remus looked alarmed.  
  
Sirius shrugged. 'I dunno. He'd probably become a Death Eater, just to annoy Arthur. I wouldn't put anything past that idiot.'  
  
'Don't even think such a thing!' Remus sounded shocked.  
  
'Whatever', Sirius sighed. Then he remembered something. 'I forgot', he blurted out, 'I saw who that Death Eater was...'  
  
Remus knew what his friend was going to say. He could tell by the dark flash in Sirius' eye. 'Peter', he breathed, clenching his fists, 'we might've known.'  
  
'That man was born to be the bane of my life', Sirius muttered, spitting contemptuously onto the floor, ignoring Remus' disapproving glance.  
  
'Hmmm.' Remus said at last, looking more worried than ever. 'Never mind that for now, we need to get you out of this place-you need a healer.'  
  
'Any ideas?' Sirius asked, feeling restless already, 'I mean, I can hardly just walk out of here. Now if I could still disapparate, it would be a different matter...'  
  
At that moment, Tonks re-entered, balancing four cups of coffee in her arms. 'I spoke to Dumbledore', she told them, 'I found an empty room with a fireplace, on the ground floor. Paid him a visit. He said he'll allow Harry to come here at about four o'clock, if that's okay with you? If it's not, he said to send an express owl.'  
  
'That's great', Sirius replied enthusiastically, 'can't wait to see him. Oh Remus, I nearly forgot to ask-did I know Eva Cleansweep at some point? The name rings a bell.'  
  
Remus and Tonks looked at each other, then burst out laughing.  
  
'What?' Sirius asked, slightly annoyed.  
  
'We were wondering when you'd recognise the name', Tonks remarked, wiping her eyes. 'Remus told me aaallll about you and Eva.'  
  
A painful memory was coming back to Sirius...  
  
'Noooo!' He groaned, burying his face in his hands, 'of all the nurses you could've got to examine me, why did you pick her?'  
  
Remus chuckled. 'Guess what Sirius? She's coming back this evening!'  
  
Sirius closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face. Eva Cleansweep...  
  
He remembered being sixteen years old. Eva was a pretty, dark-haired girl- his Potions partner, now he thought about it. Sirius had wanted to ask her out for at least two years, but never quite had the courage. Then one day, when James, Remus, Sirius and Peter were sitting in the stands at the quidditch pitch talking, James had spotted Eva walking around the grounds with Lily Evans. So the two boys had come up with a 'clever' plan...  
  
They summoned their broomsticks from the castle, and kicked off from the ground. The plan was to do some dramatic stunts over the lake, in full view of the girls, then nosedive, when they were directly overhead. They pulled it off...apart from the nosedive part. James pulled up just in time, leapt off his broom and bowed cheekily to Lily, while Sirius had ploughed straight into the ground, breaking his nose and arm. Eva and Lily had had to link him and half-carry half-drag the dazed sixth year to the hospital wing. Every time Sirius worked up the courage to speak to Eva after that, she would turn away and start giggling with her friends. Sirius had never enjoyed being the butt of a joke, and this joke was particularly painful...  
  
'Please Ray, tell her she can't come', he begged.  
  
'Sirius, that was about twenty years ago!' Remus said soothingly. 'I'm sure she's forgotten about that.'  
  
'Though she did say something about how you must have done some DIY surgery, 'cos your nose is perfectly straight again.' Tonks added with a snigger.  
  
'I remember Madam Pomfrey refused to straighten it for me, as a punishment for showing off', Sirius moaned, 'so I fixed it myself after I'd finished school.'  
  
'Well, you and Eva and Remus can have a nice chat about old times', Tonks said, rolling her eyes, 'I'm gonna go visit Kingsley when she comes. She thinks I'm some stupid little kid, just because I'm so clum-oops!'  
  
'Argh!' Remus shouted, leaping to his feet as Tonks spilled a mug of coffee on his trousers.  
  
'Sorry Remus', she grinned apologetically, 'that's why I got four mugs of coffee-I knew I'd spill at least one!'  
  
Unfortunately, Remus' yell had been heard out in the corridor. Sirius looked up, and saw a young nurse peering in through the window in the door. When she caught sight of her patient sitting upright and talking, her jaw dropped, and burst into the private room immediately.  
  
'You're awake!' She cried, looking as pleased as if she had revived him herself. She immediately began to take reading from all the various monitors to which Sirius was attached.  
  
'Yeah...er, d'you think you could take all these...wires out of me? I'd like to leave as soon as possible.' Sirius asked politely.  
  
The nurse looked at him as though he was mad. 'You've been in a coma for three days', she said in hushed tones, 'we need to keep you under observation for at least 48 hours.'  
  
'Two days?' Sirius yelped, looking for support from Remus and Tonks, 'I can't stay for two days.'  
  
'It's true', Remus added helpfully, 'he has important business to attend to. I might even go as far as to say urgent.'  
  
'It doesn't make any difference', the nurse shrugged, 'hospital policy.'  
  
'Look', Sirius said impatiently, 'I don't care about your bloody hospital policy. I can get up and dance the Highland Fling if you want proof that I'm fine. I don't want to stay another night in this dump.'  
  
The nurse looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Her eyes widened, and Sirius was terrified she was going to burst out crying. 'I'll go get the doctor', she whispered, 'he'll want to know that you're awake.'  
  
And with that, she scurried out of the room as fast as she could. Sirius, Tonks and Remus all sighed simultaneously. It was going to be a long day. 


	8. The Three Visitors

It was five hours later, and Sirius was exhausted. For almost two hours, doctors and nurses had been gathered round his bedside, poking him and prodding him, taking readings from all the machines, and asking him personal questions. Remus and Tonks had been thrown out of the room as soon as Doctor Brownlow entered, and he hadn't seen them since, though he suspected they had gone to fetch Eva Cleansweep.  
  
There was a knock on the door. Sirius looked up, and saw Arthur Weasley peering through the glass window, a look of excitement on his face.  
  
'Come in!' Sirius called, and Arthur burst in, gazing around in ecstasy at all the Muggle machines.  
  
'Sirius, you're so lucky!' He cried, rushing over to the heart monitor. He studied it closely for several seconds, then asked 'can I...d'you think I could press some of these buttons?'  
  
Sirius grinned. 'Not unless you want a whole load of Muggle healers coming in here, expecting to see me dying or something. Congratulations, by the way!'  
  
'Oh!' Arthur looked flustered, 'thank you, it's wonderful news, isn't it? I've already abolished Umbridge's policies about not employing werewolves, warlocks, centaurs or vampires, so Remus can legally get work again. And of course, your name's been cleared. And I've promoted a few old friends, so I've been quite busy! But forget all that-how are you? I heard all about it from Remus.'  
  
'I'm fine', Sirius replied airily, ignoring the fact that as he spoke, horrible pains were shooting up and down his legs, 'I want to get out of here as soon as possible though. These doctors don't have a clue what they're doing. I need a healer.'  
  
'You can hardly blame them', Arthur said reasonably, 'I mean, how often to they get a patient who's had the Cruciatus Curse performed on them, eh? Don't worry, we'll come up with something.'  
  
'I heard about Percy', Sirius was anxious to change the subject, feeling both angry and embarrassed that the curse had nearly killed him. 'I'm sorry, Arthur, but he's got a screw loose.'  
  
Arthur sighed sadly. 'I just hope he'll see sense before it's too late', he responded miserably, 'this ridiculous fight will be the death of Molly. She was always so proud of Percy-Prefect, Head Boy, top OWLS, top NEWTS, good job, excellent prospects...who would have thought it! I always thought it'd be Charlie, or Fred or George who'd be the troublesome ones.'  
  
'Percy makes Fred and George look like saints', Sirius remarked grimly, 'by the way, when are you going to let them join the Order?'  
  
Arthur rolled his eyes. 'I don't see why they shouldn't join now! They're big enough and bold enough, that's for sure. They can handle the responsible of running a business all by themselves, I'm positive they could do well in the Order.'  
  
'So what's the problem?' Sirius asked curiously.  
  
'What do you think?' Arthur scratched his chin and leaned back in his chair. 'Molly.'  
  
'Tell that woman to lighten up!' Sirius growled, 'she's a wonderful mother and a great friend, but she takes life too seriously, and treats all the kids like they're five year olds! Ginny's the youngest, and she's fifteen!'  
  
'I suppose', Arthur sighed heavily again. 'Did Harry tell you Ginny has a boyfriend?'  
  
'No! Who?'  
  
'Some lad called Dean Thomas. His parents are Muggles. He's in Harry's year. Molly's fuming, because she so badly wanted Harry to be Ginny's first boyfriend. I think she wanted them to get married, too.'  
  
Both men burst out laughing.  
  
'How's everything going with the Order?' Sirius asked, 'has Dumbledore handed out any new assignments?'  
  
Arthur shrugged. 'Not really. He asked me to send some HitWizards round to the Malfoy Mansion and search it thoroughly. There's a team over there now. Snape's doing his usual spy work and a few of the others are following known Death Eaters who haven't been captured.'  
  
'I met Draco Malfoy the other day', Sirius said, wrinkling his nose, 'he's an odious little creep if ever there was one. I didn't get the impression he knew about his father yet.'  
  
Arthur grinned widely. 'I delivered the news to Narcissa personally, three mornings ago. She got such a shock when my head appeared in her fireplace! Dumbledore probably broke it gently to Draco.'  
  
'Not too gently, I hope', Sirius grunted.  
  
Suddenly, there was a tiny beep, and Arthur burst out laughing.  
  
'What?' Sirius asked, surprised.  
  
'Oh, I'm sorry Sirius', he replied breathlessly, still chuckling, 'I have a little device sewn into my robes-sort of like a portable Muggle hellyphone. My HitWizards have the number, and they just punch it into their hellyphones if they want me. It beeps then vibrates! Makes me laugh, unfortunately. But I'd better go...they must be having a spot of bother at the Malfoy's.'  
  
'I wish I could come too', Sirius responded wistfully.  
  
He saw a look of pity on Arthur's face. Sirius did not want to be pitied. 'Ignore me', he said chirpily, plastering a fake smile on his face, 'go on, disapparate, and hurry! You'll have to tell me exactly what happened later.'  
  
Arthur smiled. 'Of course I will. Good chatting to you, Sirius. I'll see you when you get home!' And with a small POP, he vanished.  
  
***************  
  
Arthur had only been gone a short time when a woman suddenly apparated at the foot of his bed.  
  
'It's like people are trying to rub my nose in it!' He said grumpily, before taking in exactly who it was that was standing in front of him: The woman was tall and slim, with dark hair and eyes. She was sallow-skinned, with rosy cheeks, and at that moment, she was wearing a cheeky smile.  
  
'Sirius Black, as I live and breathe', she said softly, smiling at him. 'It's a long time since I saw you last-conscious, that is.'  
  
'Eva', he greeted her politely. He wanted to find out whether she was planning on teasing him, before he showed any signs of affection.  
  
'You look better', she remarked, 'the wanted posters made you look positively ugly.'  
  
'That's what starvation, despair and Dementors can do to you', Sirius replied sarcastically.  
  
Eva snorted. 'Same old Sirius.' She shook her head in mock despair.  
  
'Will you just do whatever you're here to do and leave me in peace?' Sirius asked cantankerously.  
  
Eva threw her hands up and sighed exaggeratedly. 'All right, all right!' Making sure that nobody was watching through the window, she pulled out her wand, and began to make all sorts of complicated symbols in the air over Sirius. He watched her intently; she was every bit as beautiful as she had been all those years ago.  
  
'You married?' He asked abruptly, covering up his eagerness with a scowl.  
  
Eva put her head to one side and smiled coyly at him. 'No. I was engaged though. Left the man at the altar.'  
  
'Really? Who was the man?' Sirius asked interestedly.  
  
'Amos Diggory. Poor chap, his son died a year ago around now.'  
  
Sirius' jaw dropped. 'Amos? You nearly married AMOS? He was a Hufflepuff, and six yars ahead of us!'  
  
'I met him at the Ministry. I worked there for a while', Eva replied defensively, 'what's it to you anyway?'  
  
Sirius shrugged. 'Nothing. I was just wondering.'  
  
Eva's expression softened. 'No need to ask you what you've been up to since we last met', she said.  
  
Sirius sighed. 'Azkaban took away some of the best years of my life.' He said sadly.  
  
Eva sat down on the bed. 'What was it like?' She asked quietly.  
  
Sirius shuddered. 'Dark. Damp. Hopeless. Every day, the Dementors would chuck a bowl of gruel into the cell early in the morning. There wouldn't be anything else until past midnight, when they gave us a bottle of water and some stale bread and mouldy cheese. But the food was the least of it. Day and night merged into one long, hellish night. All around me, I could hear people losing their minds, screaming and begging for mercy. But Dementors don't know what mercy is.'  
  
All the time he was speaking, Sirius was unaware that Eva was edging closer to him. 'It sounds awful!' She breathed, looking horrified. 'How did you escape?'  
  
'If I told you, I'd have to kill you', Sirius joked. He leaned forward so that his head almost touched Eva's.  
  
'Some things never change', she whispered, smiling wryly.  
  
Then she kissed him.  
  
'Ahem', said a familiar voice. Sirius jerked away, and saw Remus standing in the doorway, grinning annoyingly. Eva went bright red, and leapt to her feet.  
  
'Sorry to interrupt you', Remus said, 'but Harry is here.'  
  
'Harry!' Sirius tried to collect his thoughts, watching Eva out of the corner of his eye.  
  
'Umm...Sirius is a lot better, but I'd like him to stop by St Mungo's as soon as possible', Eva blurted out, 'is that the time? I'd better leave. Sirius...thank you for...' Eva trailed off into silence, smiling at Sirius.  
  
'Yeah, er, thank you too', he replied, waving. She waved back, then disappeared with a pop.  
  
'Can I let the boy in now?' Remus hissed.  
  
'Yeah, yeah, definitely', Sirius said absently, gazing at the spot where Eva had stood. Remus tut-tutted, then leaned out of the door and called Harry's name.  
  
'Harry! Great to see you again!' Sirius cried enthusiastically.  
  
Harry grinned at his godfather, but Sirius felt immediately that something was wrong. 'Is everything okay Sirius?' Harry asked, in a strange voice.  
  
'Yeah, I'll be out of here in no time.' Sirius glanced meaningfully at Remus, who took the hint.  
  
'Well, I'm gonna go find Tonks. Have fun, you two!' And with that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.  
  
'What's up Harry?' Sirius asked at once.  
  
Harry didn't reply for several minutes. When he did, he stared steadily at the floor. 'I had a dream.'  
  
'What was it?' Sirius asked anxiously, 'you didn't see Voldemort again, did you?'  
  
'No. I WAS Voldemort.' Harry still wouldn't look at Sirius.  
  
'And...' Sirius faltered. His heart skipped a beat. Please, he thought, don't let him know! He can't have found out that way! 'And what happened?'  
  
'Peter was there', Harry finally looked at Sirius, hurt, fear and distress in his eyes. 'Peter was telling Voldemort that...that you're weak.'  
  
'Well Peter could hardly pretend he beat me at a fair fight!' Sirius tried to laugh it off. Harry didn't even smile. 'even Voldemort must know how bad he is at spells!'  
  
To Sirius' surprise, Harry changed the subject. 'What really happened when you fell through the veil in the Department of Mysteries?' He asked abruptly, very plae all of a sudden.  
  
'Nothing', Sirius lied, 'nothing! Why do you ask?'  
  
'Because', Harry replied, looking at Sirius as though willing him to laugh and tell Harry the whole thing was a mix-up of some kind, 'because Peter said you lost your magic and Voldemort says it happened when you fell through the archway. He says you did it for me.'  
  
Sirius gazed at his godson, lost for words.  
  
'Is it true?' Harry asked, swallowing hard. 'Is it true that you died and gave up your magic for me?'  
  
And Sirius nodded. 


	9. Harry and Sirius

Okay, first of all I wanna thank EVERYONE who has reviewed so far!Laterose, Naomi Silverwolf, Japonica, 'BOO YAH', Katie, Siri_padfoot, X-Girl, Sirius- Hotness, HoshiHikari4evercoffyb3an, ckat44, sheya, senshichan_14, and Melissa Sanchez! You guys have encouraged me so much! Thank u!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I do own Professor Saevitia Grappenhall, Eva Cleansweep, and any other character that JKR has never mentioned!  
  
And now, to continue:  
  
Harry stood abruptly and went over to the window. Sirius felt completely helpless. He hoped desperately that this was all a bad dream and he would wake up any moment.  
  
No such luck.  
  
'Why didn't you tell me?' Harry asked quietly, still gazing out the window.  
  
Sirius licked his lips nervously. 'I knew it'd upset you', he responded gently, imagining that he would rather be facing an army of Dementors than having this particular conversation.  
  
'You must've known I'd find out eventually', Harry replied in a strangled voice.  
  
'Yeah', Sirius admitted, 'but you have to understand, I had to come to grips with it myself before I could start trying to explain it to you. I'm still trying to find a way to cope with it all, and as you can see', he said, indicating his drips and monitors, 'I haven't found it yet.'  
  
'It's my fault', Harry said miserably.  
  
'No it's not', Sirius contradicted him immediately, 'don't even think that for one second, Harry.'  
  
'But it is', Harry insisted, 'I'm the one who decided to go off and save you, without thinking it through properly. Hermione and the others tried to warn me, but I wouldn't listen. And look what's happened because of it! Kingsley's practically dying, you were actually dead, but sacrificed your magic to come back to life, and several people from the Ministry died!'  
  
'But look at the good that's come out of it', Sirius reminded him, with a bite of impatience, 'I'm a free man again! Remus has got his old job back, Dumbledore's got his good name back, there's a few dangerous Death Eaters in prison, and Arthur Weasley is Minister for Magic! I'll be fine, Kingsley will pull through I'm sure, and...well, it is bad about the Ministry workers, I admit, but Harry! None of this was your fault!'  
  
'I'm not a kid anymore', Harry replied, turning to face his godfather, 'I can take the responsibility.'  
  
'What responsibility?' Sirius yelled in exasperation, 'Harry, stop blaming yourself for this! It was my decision-my own stupid decision-to come to the Ministry, so it's my own stupid fault hat I have no magic. Kingsley too! He chose to come, nobody forced him to!'  
  
Harry ignored Sirius' attempts to ease his conscience, and instead asked 'so what happened...beyond the veil?'  
  
Sirius wondered whether telling Harry the whole truth could make the situation any worse than it already was. It was times like these that he wished he had Remus' personality and calm thought process. In the end, he decided to tell the truth-not the whole truth, though, until he saw how Harry was taking it. He took a deep breath.  
  
'I'll make a long story short', he began, 'I was in this cloudy sort of room, and a man was telling me I was going to die. I pleaded for my life. He appeared and told me if I gave him my magic, he'd let me go back through the arch. I gave it to him...after a little persuasion.'  
  
Harry swallowed hard, and looked away. 'I knew that archway wasn't normal', he commented, 'I knew that as soon as I saw it. When you fell through, I saw the look on Lupin's face-he thought you'd died. When you reappeared after a second, I couldn't believe it! I thought Lupin was wrong, and that the archway wasn't anything sinister after all. But the whispers I could hear behind it...that was the dead talking, wasn't it?'  
  
Sirius shrugged. 'No point asking me', he replied truthfully, 'I've no idea. I'd only heard vague stories about the archway before-maybe if I'd known about it, I would've been more careful.'  
  
'So when people die', Harry continued, apparently fascinated with the subject of the archway, 'do they apparate in the Department of Mysteries or something? How do they get through the arch?'  
  
'Harry, do we really have to talk about this?' Sirius shivered, 'if you must know, the place beyond the veil is where people who've been murdered, or denied their chance to fulfil their destiny go.'  
  
Harry froze, and stared at Sirius, wide-eyed. 'Is...everyone who's been murdered sent there?'  
  
Sirius sighed heavily. 'Yes Harry.'  
  
'Oh.' Harry said in a small voice. He looked so anxious and lonely, standing by the window, that Sirius wanted to say something comforting.  
  
'You've got plenty of people looking out for you, you know that, right?' He began, working up to what he wanted to say.  
  
'Yeah', Harry replied despondently.  
  
'I mean, there's me, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, Arthur, Molly, Dumbledore, your parents, Fred, George...'  
  
Harry looked up sharply. 'What did you say?'  
  
'I said you've got a lot of people looking out for you.'  
  
'Before you said Fred and George, you mentioned...'  
  
'Your parents?'  
  
'Yeah.'  
  
'I know I did.'  
  
'How d'you know they're looking out for me?' Harry asked sulkily.  
  
' 'Cos I met them.'  
  
'WHAT?' Harry yelled, jumping back a step, a look of astonishment on his face.  
  
'Well, I met your mum anyway. Your dad was busy watching over you.' Sirius explained, delighted that he had distracted Harry from the topic of his guilt.  
  
'You...you met...you met Mum?' Harry choked, sinking into the chair next to Sirius, 'wh-what did she say? Is she happy? Are they okay?'  
  
'She's fine. So's James. She said they're always watching over you, and they love you. She gave me a knife-Remus has it at the moment, he knew the hospital would take it otherwise.' Sirius smiled anxiously, wondering how Harry would take all this news.  
  
Harry was sitting bolt upright in his chair, staring straight ahead, as pale as a ghost. It was beginning to make Sirius feel uncomfortable.  
  
'I can't believe you died...and you met my Mum...then you came back again...and you weren't going to tell me any of that?' Harry burst out suddenly, making Sirius jump, 'I'm fed up with everyone treating me like a little kid, only telling me what they think I'll be able to take, keeping secrets from me, afraid I'll get upset. I'm sixteen! Sirius, thought you understood how I felt, but obviouslAAAAAAARGH!'  
  
Harry pressed his hands to his forehead, and leaned forward in his chair. Suddenly, he began to laugh-a high, cold laugh that sent shivers up and down Sirius' spine. He fell to the floor, still laughing like a maniac. Sirius yanked out half the tubes and machines that kept him confined to the bed, and knelt down next to Harry, shaking him and calling him. Finally, after several torturous minutes, Harry's laughter ceased. He opened his eyes, and looked around. 'Voldemort's happy', he said quietly, 'because he thinks he's found a way to help his Death Eaters escape.'  
  
'What is it? What's he planning to do?' Sirius asked sharply, helping Harry to his feet.  
  
Harry shrugged. 'I dunno, do I? I just know that he's happy, and why. You're bleeding, by the way.' His tone was quite cold.  
  
Sirius rubbed the back of his hand, where he had just pulled out his IV line. It was bleeding and painful, but he barely noticed. 'Don't be like that, Harry.'  
  
'Like what?' Harry asked shortly.  
  
'Don't start going on about how you get treated like a kid. You're out of your depth in stuff like this-'  
  
'I am not!' Harry interrupted rudely.  
  
'Let me finish! You're out of your depth in stuff like this, but so are the rest of us. The only difference is, the members of the Order are adults, who lived through Voldemort's last rise to power. We have experience of him and his tactics.'  
  
'So do I!' Harry argued, 'I've faced him four times now!'  
  
'Yes', Sirius retorted impatiently, 'but you shouldn't have had to do that! Like it or not, you're too young to be in the Order, and there are no exceptions to our age rule, not even for those who've had to face him before-and as far as I know, you're the only one who's lived to tell the tale. Plus, Voldemort can see your thoughts any time he wants-it wouldn't be a good idea for you to know too much of what we're doing.'  
  
Harry gaped at him. 'You sound like Mrs Weasley.' He said huffily, 'besides, you were the one who was all gung-ho to tell me about "the secret weapon" last summer-why so cagey now?'  
  
'Maybe I've grown up and copped on', Sirius replied honestly, 'I dunno. I just think you should get to live your teen years in peace.'  
  
'How can I?' Harry retorted angrily, 'with this stupid prophecy hanging over me? Either Voldemort or I will be dead within a couple of years. Either way, my "teen years" won't be a great experience from now on.'  
  
Sirius resisted the urge to scream with frustration. 'Maybe', he said through the gritted teeth, 'if you tried being positive for a while? Look at all the good things going on around you. Look at it this way-if this prohphecy thing actually has to be done, you've got a fifty-fifty chance of being the one who survives.'  
  
'Great. And I've a fifty-fifty chance of being a murderer', Harry muttered.  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes. He wondered briefly whether he had been as aggravating as this as a teenager.  
  
'Just cheer up.' He said at last.  
  
'Mmm.' Harry mumbled.  
  
Sirius was beginning to wonder whether to change the subject, or continue with his 'the glass is half-full' lecture, when Remus appeared at the door, and gave Sirius a questioning look. Sirius nodded vigorously, and Remus entered.  
  
'All right, you two?' He asked cheerfully.  
  
'Harry knows', Sirius answered sullenly.  
  
'Oh.' Remus' smile faded. It was obvious to anyone that Harry was taking the news badly.  
  
'I'd like to go back to Hogwarts now', Harry said suddenly.  
  
'Er...' Remus glanced at Sirius, who shrugged. He had no idea how to handle Harry in his present mood-blaming himself was one thing, but Sirius hadn't expected Harry to be angry with him.  
  
'Okay then. I'll fetch Tonks, she can take you back.'  
  
Harry got up, and followed Remus out of the room.  
  
'Bye Harr-' But before Sirius could finish his farewell, Harry had allowed the door to slam shut behind him.  
  
Sirius sighed. Teenagers!  
  
**********  
  
It was much later that evening, and Sirius was sleeping, while Remus dozed in the chair next to him. Suddenly, a thought that had been nagging Sirius' subconscious since Harry's visit zoomed to the front of his mind, and he awoke, sitting bolt upright in the bed. Remus jumped and looked around wildly.  
  
'What happened?' He asked anxiously, 'is everything all right?'  
  
'No', Sirius replied sharply, 'shut up for a second, I need to think.'  
  
Voldemort had somehow known what happened beyond the veil.  
  
But how? Nobody had ever been beyond the veil and come back, apart from Sirius. And the archway was not a well-known phenomenon. So how did Voldemort deduce what had happened? Sirius found it difficult to believe that he could have worked it out so easily.  
  
'Harry said something', Sirius told Remus, 'about Voldemort...he said Voldemort was the one who knew I'd made a sacrifice, to come back from beyond the veil...'  
  
'How would he know that?' Remus asked curiously.  
  
'He couldn't', Sirius responded, 'like I said, I'm the first person it's ever happened to!'  
  
'Maybe he guessed? Maybe Bellatrix told him you had disappeared momentarily, and he presumed something had happened in that space of time? He has spies everywhere, they may have explained to him about the arch.' Remus reasoned.  
  
Sirius shook his head. 'I have a feeling that he got Peter to attack me as a way of proving what he already believed he knew. I mean, come on, would Wormtail ever beat me in a fair fight, where I had the ability to use a wand?'  
  
'No', Remus admitted, 'so you think he knew you'd lost your magic, as soon as Bellatrix told him about you falling through the arch?'  
  
'No', Sirius said, a new thought occuring to him, 'what if...yeah, it might make sense...what if Bellatrix was actually trying to make me fall through the arch all along? What if...I dunno, Voldemort wanted to make Harry feel doubly guilty, and pounce on him when his resistance was low...he never expected me not to die!'  
  
'Perhaps', Remus could almost see the logic behind Sirius' theory, 'but since you didn't die...his plan achieved nothing.'  
  
'Not true', Sirius argued, 'he has one less member of the Order of the Phoenix to contend with-I can hardly fight Death Eaters with my fists now, can I? Plus, Harry's angry with me now. It makes it easy for Voldemort to read his mind.'  
  
'So', Remus said, mulling over Sirius' words, 'what do we do now?'  
  
'We get me out of here, for a start', Sirius replied immediately, 'then we get the whole Order together and we discuss what's gonna happen next.'  
  
'Rightio', Remus replied, slapping his knees, standing up and striding towards the door, 'leave it with me. Tonks and I will have you out of here by dawn.'  
  
And he left Sirius alone, with only his whirling thoughts for company.  
  
What he wouldn't have given for a Pensieve just then! His mind whirred, as he went over the past few days in his head.  
  
It was then that a horrible thought crossed his mind.  
  
What if he was no longer an Animagus?  
  
Sirius was too scared to try and transform. He had had so much on his mind since his escapade among the dead that he had never considered whether he still had the skill to turn into a dog.  
  
Don't get your hopes up, he warned himself, you probably can't do it anymore. They took your magic, and turning into an animal is magic.  
  
Still, he could not dampen that tiny spark of hope that was left in him.  
  
He concentrated with all his might, willing himself to turn into the black dog he had always been.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
It was at that moment that the reality of his position really hit him.  
  
He was a wizard without a wand, and without his Animagus skill. He was a free man, but from here on in, he would be in constant danger from Death Eaters. His godson was angry with him for coming back from the dead to help him, and he was stuck in a Muggle hospital because he was too weak to withstand the Cruciatus Curse any more.  
  
He felt as though a Dementor had just sucked all the happiness out of his life.  
  
Only this Dementor was never going to go away.  
  
Aaaaand it's over 2 u! I've got chapter 10 done, (well, almost) and wanna know if u guys would be interested in my putting it up-its basically about what Sirius is gonna be doing for the next few months after his recovery! If you'd like to know what he'll be doing, I can always write about that as well, but I wanna know what everyone thinks! Luv yall, thanks for reading :-) *~Zana G. Nicholson~* 


	10. Mission:Impossible

Sirius opened the door to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, and was greeted by the sight of the Weasley twins bounding towards him from the staircase.  
  
'Hey Sirius!' Fred yelled brightly, 'so they worked then?'  
  
'Yeah', Sirius replied, grinning and looking down at the seemingly normal shoes he was wearing, 'they were fantastic!'  
  
Stilt Sneakers were the latest invention from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes: shoes with soles which thickened magically, making the wearer taller. Tonks had obtained a pair from the terrible twins, and depsite Remus' reservations, had given them to Sirius. Tonks had also got all his personal belongings from his locker, and found the knife which Lily had given. Sirius sat on the windowsill, and Tonks said the appropraite words over the shoes: They began to grow like stilts, until they touched the ground and Sirius hopped off the windowsill. Remus, who was waiting below, deflated the shoes, and Sirius sharnk back to normal size, safe on ground level. The trio had walked all the way to Grimmauld Place-stopping every now and then for Sirius to rest-and were quite worn out from their escapades.  
  
Sirius descended to the kitchen, followed by the others. Tonks immediately began to make five mugs of cocoa, while everyone else sat down at the table.  
  
'Never thought I'd say it', Sirius remarked, 'but it's good to be home.'  
  
'Can we move in here, Sirius?' George asked eagerly.  
  
'What? Why?' Sirius was surprised by the request, 'what's wrong with the Burrow?'  
  
'Well', Fred began uncomfortably, 'it's Mum...she keeps nagging us, trying to find out how the business is going, fussing over us...'  
  
'You'd rather she didn't care at all, would you?' Tonks asked sarcastically.  
  
'Exactly', George replied, 'and we were thinking...this house is huge...we could live in one or two rooms...we'd be nearer to work-'  
  
'But you apparate to work anyway!' Tonks exclaimed, while Remus tut-tutted from behind the newspaper.  
  
'We know', Fred answered patiently, 'but it'd be nice to walk there sometimes-y'know, if we wanted the exercise.'  
  
'And Mum could still see us-she's here practically every day', George added reasonably.  
  
Sirius made a face. ' Truth is I'd love to have you here-this place get's lonely sometimes', he admitted, 'but Molly wouldn't like it. She thinks I'm a dreadful influence on her children already!'  
  
'We're eighteen', Fred cried, 'we're old enough to make our own decisions!'  
  
'I know', Sirius replied, 'but Molly doesn't see it that way. Look, clear it with her, then you can come and stay.'  
  
'Yesss!' Fred and George high-fived one another, and grinned at Sirius.  
  
'So', Fred said brightly, 'what's next on the agenda?'  
  
'You two're going to get kicked out, because we're having an Order meeting at ten o'clock this morning.' Remus replied.  
  
'We're joining', the twins responded in unison.  
  
'No you're not', Remus, Tonks and Sirius retorted simultaneously.  
  
There words were greeted by two howls of dismay. 'Please can we join?' George begged, 'we'd make fantastic spies-we have loads of practice!'  
  
'No', Remus was deadly serious, 'you're too young.'  
  
'We're almost as old as some of you were when You-Know-Who was around the first time!' Fred cried indignantly.  
  
'Yes, but we had no choice', Remus explained patiently.  
  
'And we're only a few years younger than Tonks!' George interrupted.  
  
'Yeah, but I'm an auror', Tonks argued, 'I'm properly trained for this sort of thing!'  
  
'But you're the clumsiest person EVER!' Fred roared, outraged.  
  
Tonks turned bright red. 'So?' She said defiantly.  
  
'That's enough of that!' Sirius bellowed, as the three youngest people present looked set to engage in a shouting match. 'Shut up, the lot of you! You're giving me a migraine. Fred and George, you can't join, end of story. When we tell you to get out, you get out, understood?'  
  
Fred and George stared at Sirius, their mouths wide open. He had never spoken to them with authority before. 'Fine', George muttered sulkily.  
  
Everyone sat down again.  
  
'Anyone for a cup of cocoa?' Tonks asked cheerfully, after a few minutes.  
  
'Yes please', they all replied at once, and burstout laughing. None of them could stay angry with each other for long!  
  
************  
  
Sirius gazed around the table at all the members of the Order of the Phoenix: Remus and Tonks, deep in discussion; Arthur and Molly arguing quietly over something; Snape, glaring around at everybody else; Minerva gesticulating wildly about something to some tiny little man that Sirius guessed was Flitwick. There was Mundungus, half-asleep in his chair; seven new recruits whom Sirius did not recognise; Mad-Eye Moody, his magical eye whizzing all over the place; Rubeus Hagrid, taking up half one side of the table; Bill and Charlie Weasley drinking Butterbeer and laughing; and in the centre of the table, looking as serene and amiable as ever, sat Albus Dumbledore.  
  
Sirius surveyed his old headmaster carefully. He was surprised to see that Dumbledore was showing signs of exhaustion. Sirius had never thought of Dumbledore as a normal, vulnerable human being-he was Albus Dumbledore; the man who was and always would be around to solve all the problems of the world. Now, Dumbledore had shadows under his eyes, and did not look as alert as usual. He caught Sirius watching him, and smiling gently.  
  
The general hubbub continued for a few minutes, before Dumbledore quietly called for order. Immediately, everyone was silent. He nodded with satisfaction.  
  
'Thank you', he began, 'for your co-operation in coming here this morning. I think we have almost all of the Order members here-excluding Mr Shacklebot, of course, who remains grievously ill.'  
  
There was a murmur around the table. Molly shook her head despairingly, while Arthur comforted her. Dumbledore continued.  
  
'I called you here this morning to discuss the recent change in events', he declared, 'As you know, we now have the Minister for Magic in our midst- something which will work greatly to our advantage. We also have seven new recruits-eight actually, only the eighth was unable to attend this morning. Members of the Order of the Phoenix, meet your new comrades; Jessica Bones, Andrew Thompson, Jamila Patil, Zachary Marsden, Blaise Silvermoon, Louise Jameson and Oliver Wood.'  
  
The new recruits smiled somewhat nervously as the other Order members greeted them. Sirius paid particular attention to Oliver Wood-a young man who looked about twenty years old. He had heard Harry speak highly of him, and he nodded a greeting to Wood.  
  
'Assignments', Dumbledore said, recalling the attention of the group. He gazed around his former pupils, thinking. After a few moments pause, he nodded and continued. 'Mad-Eye, Minerva and Blaise; I'm putting you three in charge of Hogsmeade. I want you to watch the comings and goings of every single person. I want to establish a profile on who is frequenting the area close to Hogwarts. I want a report at the end of June.'  
  
'Right you are, Dumbledore', Mad-Eye grunted, putting his feet on the table, and ignoring Molly's heavy sighs. The other two involved nodded- Blaise looked distinctly relieved to have been give so simple an assignment.  
  
'Hagrid. I want you to deliver a message to Durmstrang and to Beauxbatons. I'll give you the details this evening.'  
  
'Thank ye, Professor', Hagrid said, nodding.  
  
'Now...let me see...Charlie, Jessica and Louise. I want you to shadow the families of the Death Eaters we captured in the Department of Mysteries. I want a detailed time-table of their movements.'  
  
'Aye aye cap'n', Charlie said cheerfully, saluting the headmaster. He was already turning up the charm for the two young women who would be accompanying him.  
  
'Excellent, excellent...Mundungus, Zachary, Andrew, Arthur, Molly, Flitwick, and Jamila-you are in charge of guarding London.'  
  
Arthur spat out a mouthful of Butterbeer. 'What?' He exclaimed, 'guarding London? You mean the whole city?'  
  
'Yes', Dumbledore replied simply, 'this city is the centre of the Anti- Voldemort movement and you in particular Arthur, with many HitWizards under your thumb, are in charge of making sure that St Mungo's is never attacked, that Ministry Headquarters are never penetrated again, that Grimmauld Place remains a closely guarded secret and that Knockturn Alley is...how shall I put this? Purged of its usual residents. I don't want such a source of evil so close to Diagon Alley.'  
  
'No problem, Dumbledore', Mundugus Fletcher replied sarcastically, 'piece o' cake.'  
  
'You will find the job a lot easier than you think', Dumbledore responded mildly, surveying Mundungus over his half-moon spectacles, 'and that leaves me with...let me see, Severus, Bill, Remus, Tonks, Sirius, Oliver and...oh yes, of course, Eva Cleansweep. She is the eighth recruit. You six will be working together. I will discuss your assignment with you when the meeting is concluded.'  
  
Sirius and Remus shared a glance. Remus was grinning wickedly. While Dumbledore continued to talk about recent events, he shuffled his chair closer to Sirius' and muttered 'at least Eva's in the group as well.'  
  
'That's a small comfort, when I'll have Snivellus bringing up my...weakness every moment of every day', Sirius grumbled, 'I bet our assignments really tame-Dumbledore wouldn't put me on anything important now I'm no better than a glorified Muggle.'  
  
'No', Remus disagreed, 'I have a funny feeling he has something big planned for us...'  
  
The meeting concluded soon after Dumbledore had handed out the assignments. After saying their goodbyes, everyone except for the six in question departed. As Hagrid waved back at them in the doorway, Sirius wondered when he would next see any of his friends. He caught Arthur's arm as he, too, headed for the door. 'Be careful, Arthur', he muttered.  
  
Arthur smiled. 'Look after Bill, won't you?' he hissed, winking.  
  
'Take care, Sirius! Remus!' Molly called over her shoulder. The front door closed, and they were gone.  
  
Sirius and the others returned to the kitchen, to find Dumbledore had disappeared.  
  
'He muttered something about Fawkes and disapparated', Bill told them, collapsing into a seat by the fire.  
  
'He'll be back soon', Remus stated, also taking a seat. Sirius and Tonks sat down on either side of him. Snape leaned against the fireplace (Bill shoved his chair as far away as possible from his old Potions master), glowering at them all, while Oliver Wood stood by the door, looking somewhat uneasy. Sirius noticed him first.  
  
'Your name's Wood, isn't it?' He asked, smiling encouragingly at Oliver.  
  
Oliver nodded, and took a tentative step forward.  
  
'You were Harry Potter's quidditch captain, weren't you?' Sirius continued.  
  
Oliver looked somewhat surprised, but mumbled 'yeah.'  
  
'He always spoke very highly of you', Sirius remarked pleasantly, grinning at Oliver. Oliver's eyebrows disappeared into his hair-line.  
  
'I didn't know you knew Harry', he blurted out.  
  
'Yeah', Sirius replied softly, 'he's my godson. Says you're a wonderful keeper. I hear you're with Puddlemere United?'  
  
'Yeah, I am', Oliver took the stool that Remus offered to him, and smiled gratefully, 'we came fourth in the league this year.'  
  
'I was at one of your matches', Tonks told the young keeper, 'the one against Chudley Cannons-you were brilliant!'  
  
'Yeah', Bill admitted, 'the Cannons just couldn't get past you. I read all about it in Quidditch Monthly.'  
  
'Pity he could never even make a simple Sleeping Draught.' Severus commented sourly.  
  
Oliver's face, which had brightened up considerably at all the praise, now fell again.  
  
'Shut up, Snivellus', Sirius growled. Oliver let out a snort of laughter, which he quickly turned into a cough.  
  
'Why have you always got to be the killjoy?' Tonks complained, glaring at Snape.  
  
'How dare you!' Snape's eyes flashed maliciously, as he glared at Tonks.  
  
'No point in trying to scare me', Tonks said defiantly, 'I'm not your pupil anymore-neither are Bill or Oliver. We're all in this together, so it's up to us to sink or swim. And I swear, if you and Sirius keep snapping at each other constantly, I'll put a permanent Bat bogey Hex on you both!'  
  
'How childish!' Snape grimaced.  
  
'SHUT UP!' Everyone shouted together. Oliver Wood took particular pleasure in joining in with the others.  
  
'Fighting already, I see', Dumbledore said, sighing heavily. Nobody had noticed him apparate. 'I warn you all, it is most important that you try and get along. It's bad enough that my students refuse to get along, without the Order starting to argue as well. From this moment forth, you will lay all your differences aside, and co-operate. Is that perfectly clear?'  
  
'Yes', they all muttered.  
  
'Good', Dumbledore replied, 'now, to business. I have chosen the seven of you because I believe you will complete this mission successfully. Between you, there is no skill that you lack, and your combined brain power is quite magnificent. Now, are you willing to undertake a mission so dangerous that I cannot guarantee you will all still be alive by the time of the next meeting?'  
  
The six members of the group glanced nervously at each other. They would be depending on one another for survival.  
  
'I'm up for it', Sirius said at last, breaking the tense silence. Remus nodded and said 'me too.'  
  
'And I', Snape said, arching an eyebrow.  
  
'I'm in for sure!' Tonks cried valiantly.  
  
'Us too', Bill and Oliver said in unison.  
  
'Good. And Eva has already agreed to undertake the mission, whatever it may be. Are you ready?'  
  
Sirius licked his lips nervously, but nodded, along with his five comrades.  
  
Dumbledore took a deep breath and revealed to them their mission:  
  
'Hundreds of miles away from here, is a land which is uninhabitable', he began, 'the sky is always dark, the land is barren, and Fear rules eternally. At the edge of this land is the Sea of the Dead. In the middle of the Sea of the Dead is an island. And on that island stands the terrible fortress of Azkaban.  
  
'I need not explain to you the horrors of the prison. All of you have seen Dementors, and understand their effects. Your mission is directly related to these evil creatures.  
  
You must travel to Azkaban by foot, for that is the only way, and demand a parley with a group of Dementors. Try to persuade them to join our battle against Voldemort, but do not bribe them with promises of souls, for I will not tolerate any human being's soul being destroyed in such a filthy manner. But diplomacy, I can assure you, will not work.  
  
In the heart of the fortress lies a silver orb. This orb is where Dementors come from. It keeps them going, nourishes them and duplicates them. The supply of souls is not always plentiful, and so the orb can produce enough energy to help the Dementors surive in between meals, so to speak. If the orb is destroyed, then all the Dementors will be too. Then, at least, this Second War will be fair, for whichever side had the Dementors to support them had an unfair advantage.'  
  
A long, stunned silence followed Dumbledore's words. Sirius' stomach had a hollow feeling, and when Dumbledore told them they would have to go to Azkaban, he was certain his heart had stopped. It was several minutes before he realised that ervyone except Dumbledore was staring at him.  
  
'What?' He said, though he knew perfectly well why they were watching him.  
  
'Well, seeing as you're the only one amongst us who has been imprisoned there, perhaps you could give us inisght into what lies ahead', Snape said, his lip curling.  
  
'Didn't you say Fudge was sending a messenger to Azkaban?' Remus interrupted quickly, 'what happened to him?'  
  
'They took his soul.' Dumbledore said resignedly.  
  
'What makes you think...they won't do that to us?' Bill asked sombrely.  
  
'Nothing', Dumbledore responded simply, 'I told you, I cannot guarantee any of you your safety. But you are the most likely group of wizards and witches to succeed. The odds may be stacked against you, but I do not doubt that with a combined effort, you have a fair chance of succeeding.'  
  
'A fair chance', Sirius repeated softly. He felt angry, frightened and hopeless, and was going to take it all out on Dumbledore.  
  
'A fair chance?' He said more agressively, 'that's all your giving us? A fair chance that we might succeed. Look at us, Dumbledore! There's me-I have no magic, and I'm a physical wreck! Then there's Remus-you offered him a new job and a new life only a few days ago, but what use is that when he could be dead this time next month? And Bill-his parents has already affectively lost one son, and you're prepared to put his life on the line? And Tonks-the most cheerful, happy person you could ever hope to meet. You want all the joy and life sucked out of her? Severus...well, I have to say I don't see him as a loss to mankind if he does pop his clogs, but still! And Eva-she only just joined the Order, and your putting her on a death mission! And Oliver's only a kid! Explain to me, Dumbledore, how we are the most likely people to succeed on such a mission?'  
  
'I apologise, Sirius', Dumbledore replied quietly, 'perhaps the wisdom of my choices are not apparent to any of you, but I promise you, in times to come, you will understand. I did not choose you lightly.'  
  
'Azkaban, Dumbledore!' Sirius groaned, 'nobody goes in there and comes out the same person!'  
  
'I am fully aware of the effects that Azkaban has on people, Sirius', Dumbledore responded patiently.  
  
'What if we fail?' Tonks whispered, looking very pale and almost as though she was about to throw up.  
  
'Then the Order of the Phoenix will fight on valiantly, although our chances of defeating Voldemort will be much smaller. Surely you understand that Harry Potter's role in all this will be made a good deal simpler by the elimination of Dementors. That boy has witnessed such horrors that it's a miracle he survives the onslaught of Dementors at all.'  
  
Sirius sat up at the mention of Harry's name. He had not thought about it from that angle before.  
  
'How do we get there?' Severus asked, also looking thoroughly shaken.  
  
'I will provide you with basic directions, but as soon as you begin the journey, you will be entirely alone. You must rely on your own wits and instincts.' Dumbledore told them.  
  
Sirius remembered the first glimpse he had caught of Azkaban, as he approached it with his guards. The memory made him feel physically sick, and he broke out in a cold sweat.  
  
'If it must be done', Remus said softly, 'it must be done.'  
  
The Order members looked at each other, and saw the resolve in one another's eyes. No matter what lay ahead, they were bound to the Order, and would not reject the mission. Dumbledore took their silent glances as an agreement.  
  
'So be it', he declared, 'I wish you all the luck in the world. Please, all of you, remain here and await my instructions. You will not depart for at least a week-that will also give you time to bid farewell to your families. And now, I must go the Ministry and have a little chat with the Minister.' And with a brief salute to the small gathering, he disapparated, leaving the shell-shocked wizards and witch to ponder their own impending deaths. 


	11. Forgive and Forget

'Robes?'  
  
'Check!'  
  
'Water?'  
  
'Check!'  
  
'Healing potions?'  
  
'Check!'  
  
'Brooms?'  
  
'Check!'  
  
'Chocolate?'  
  
'Check!'  
  
'Razor?'  
  
'What?' Sirius stopped rummaging through the bundles of neccessities for the journey, and raised an eyebrow. Bill, who was calling items out from the checklist, grinned sheepishly.  
  
'I like the clean-shaven look', he protested, as Sirius began to tease him, 'I wanna look good, in case we bump into any girls.'  
  
'Yeah', Sirius replied sarcastically, 'I hear loads of pretty girls hang out in the wastelands surrounding Azkaban. It's the cool place to be.'  
  
'Shut up!' Bill moaned, 'just pack a razor, will you? There's one on the windowsill in the bathroom.'  
  
'Get it yourself, you lazy git', Sirius retorted, collapsing onto the sofa in the living room, and glaring across at the Black family tree.  
  
Bill sighed exaggeratedly and strode off to find the razor. Remus entered the room a few moments later.  
  
'Ready?' He asked, 'I've lit a fire.'  
  
'Okay', Sirius sighed, getting up slowly, 'but I know he won't want to talk to me.'  
  
'He's probably gotten over that by now', Remus reassured him, as they descended to the kitchen, and walked to the fireplace, 'Harry's not one to sulk, unless he's in a very bad mood. HOGWARTS!'  
  
They exited the fireplace in Professor Dumbledore's office. The headmaster smiled benignly at them, before leading them down several flights of stairs to Professor McGonagall's classroom.  
  
'Excuse me', he said politely, sticking his head around the door, 'but might I borrow Harry Potter for a moment please?'  
  
After a few seconds, Harry appeared at the door, followed by Ron and Hermione, who shot Sirius pleading looks.  
  
'Let those two off class as well, won't you Professor?' Sirius asked brightly. Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes, sighed impatiently then said 'oh very well! Don't keep them long!'  
  
Harry was not surprised to see Sirius, for his godfather had sent him a note telling him to expect a visit. Sirius was anxious to see whether Harry would be any more friendly this time, but was sorely disappointed. Harry refused to look at him as they all walked back to Dumbledore's office, where the kindly headmaster left them, after providing them with tea, sandwiches and cream cakes.  
  
'What's up Sirius?' Ron asked eagerly, stuffing a cake into his mouth at once, 'how come you had to pull Harry out of class?'  
  
'Er...' Sirius continued to gaze at Harry, willing his godson to speak to him, but to no avail. Remus nudged him encouragingly, so Sirius went straight in at the deep end:  
  
'Remus and I have been given a mission', Sirius announced, 'along with five others. We have to go to Azkaban and destroy the source of the Dementors' powers.We might not return.'  
  
The effect was instantaneous. Ron's jaw dropped, revealing the remains of the half-chewed cream cake. Hermione's hands flew to her mouth and she gasped. Harry froze, before slowly looking up, and meeting Sirius' eyes.  
  
'No', he croaked, 'you can't. It'll kill you.'  
  
Hermione burst into tears and Ron almost choked in his hurry to swallow.  
  
'I have to', Sirius replied quietly, 'it's my mission. I can't back out.'  
  
'I'm sorry Sirius', Harry burst out, 'I'm sorry, okay? Will that make you stay?'  
  
'Don't say you're sorry unless you mean it', Sirius answered bitterly, 'and no, even if you weren't lying, it wouldn't stop me. This has nothing to do with you being a sulky git.'  
  
'I'm not a sulky git!' Harry protested angrily, 'but you keep treating me like a kid! I've been through more than you've ever gone through.'  
  
Something snapped inside Sirius at this remark. The anger and fear that had been bubbling away inside him for so long now reached boiling point, and he couldn't control it anymore. He didn't even want to.  
  
'How dare you', he hissed at Harry, 'how dare you presume you understand one tenth of the suffering I've endured! When you've looked into the eyes of one of your best friends, Harry, and realised that all along he's been betraying you, then maybe you can claim to understand something! Or when you realise you've just sold out your friends, and cost them their lives. Or when you're lying in a filthy six foot by six cell, with a creature sucking all the joy out of you twenty four hours a day. Or when you realise that your own godson, the son of your best friend, thinks you're a murderer and threatens to kill you. Or when the whole world hates you for a crime you never committed. Or when you've just lost all your powers and realise that the person you made the sacrifice for isn't even grateful. Then, Harry, you can begin to say you been through as much as me.'  
  
All through this relentless tirade, Ron was shaking and Hermione sobbed into the sleeve of her robes. Remus sat, helplessly listening to his friend's angry words. And Harry looked at Sirius and understood, for the first time, what Sirius had gone through. But his last words stung Harry into retorting ruthlessly.  
  
'Not grateful enough, amn't I?' Harry spat, 'well maybe if somebody'd actually had the decency to tell me what had happened to you, I might have taken it better, but no! I had to hear it from Peter Pettigrew. I got my information from Voldemort, in the middle of a nightmare. I never thought it could be true. I thought they were trying to trick me again. Imagine how guilty I felt when you told me it was true!'  
  
'Yeah well I'm sorry Harry', Sirius responded angrily, 'but I was trying to protect you. I knew you'd freak out about it, so I thought it was better to keep it to myself. And don't give me any more of this "I'm not a kid anymore" rubbish. You're fifteen, and I have legal responsibility for you. No matter how prepared and level-headed you claim to be, you're just not old enough!'  
  
'Stop it! Stop acting like you're my dad! I bet my real parents wouldn't say that stuff to me!' Harry yelled.  
  
His words stung Sirius, and he knew it. 'I-I'm sorry', he muttered, 'I'm sorry.'  
  
'Well', Sirius replied, in a dead tone of voice, 'you won't have to worry about me trying to act like a parent to you anymore. After today, you probably won't see me alive again. Not that you'll care. From what you've been saying lately, I've been nothing but a nuisance and an inconvenience since we first met.'  
  
He stood, and walked over to the fireplace. Remus placed a hand on his arm. 'You don't want to leave it like this.' He warned.  
  
'Don't I?' Sirius asked miserably, opening the portal to Grimmauld Place. Without looking back, he stepped into the flames.  
  
'NO!'  
  
The world had just been beginning to spin when someone got a tight grip on Sirius forearm, and began to drag him back out of the fire. It felt like his head was going to explode. Stars danced before his eyes, as he collapsed in a heap on the floor beside Harry, back in Dumbledore's office again.  
  
'Sirius', Harry gasped. And Sirius realised that there were tears rolling down his godson's cheeks.  
  
'Sirius', Harry said again. There was no need for words. Sirius hugged Harry tightly and fiercely to him, dreading the moment when he would have to let go.  
  
'I'm sorry', Harry mumbled into Sirius' shoulder, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I really am. Please, don't go.'  
  
Sirius' heart was breaking all over again, just like it had shattered sixteen years ago, when Harry's parents died. 'I have to', he whispered, 'I have to do this. I won't feel right if I don't. You understand that, don't you?'  
  
'I know, but...'  
  
'No buts', Sirius interrupted gently.  
  
'Please...' Harry begged, 'at least promise me you'll come back.'  
  
'I can't', Sirius was determined not to give Harry any false hopes, 'but I promise you I'll do everything in my power to get back here alive and kicking.'  
  
'We should go', Remus interrupted uneasily, aware of Ron and Hermione's discomfort.  
  
'Okay', Sirius said, 'so...have a good Summer Harry. And don't let the Dursleys mess you around. With any luck, I'll be home by September.'  
  
'Okay', Harry whispered, still looking extremely upset.  
  
'Bill will be coming to see you, Ron', Remus informed him, 'he'll be coming with us too. He wanted us to tell you, so you have a few days to get used to the idea.'  
  
All the colour drained from Ron's face, and he sat down again suddenly.  
  
'Bye, you three', Remus said, swallowing hard.  
  
'See you soon', Sirius said, in a falsely cheerful voice. The last thing he saw before Dumbledore's office spiralled out of view, was Hermione comforting a stunned Ron, and Harry mouthing Sirius' name, a look of utter despair on his pale, thin face.  
  
NEXT CHAPTER IS THE LAST CHAPTER!!!!!!!! 


	12. The Beginning of the End

All the members of the Order of the Phoenix had gathered at Grimmauld Place to bid farewell to Sirius and his comrades. It was a dark night-perfect for a secret departure from the area. Everyone was sitting in the large living room. Tonks was kneeling on the settee, watching Andrew Thompson (who was on guard duty) with some amusement.  
  
'He's talking to a piece of plastic, beside his ear', she exclaimed chuckling. Andrew was disguised as a Muggle businessman, striding up and down the small, dingy housing estate, pretending to be on a mobile phone, for the benefit of any Muggle observers.  
  
Sirius was chewing his fingernails frantically, dreading the mission ahead. He refused Arthur's offer of a bottle of Butterbeer, and had to run to the bathroom when Fred stuck a bag of Every Flavour Beans under his nose.  
  
Eva had arrived earlier that evening, and was sitting with Remus, talking about their schooldays. Sirius wondered how they could be so lighthearted.  
  
'Dinner's ready!' Molly Weasley announced, 'come along now, down to the kitchen all of you!'  
  
'I'll be there in a minute Molly, I just want to check I packed everything one last time', Tonks called.  
  
The rest of the Order trooped down to the kitchen and took their seats around the table, with Albus Dumbledore at its head. Sirius ate nothing- even the smell of the beautiful stew made him feel queasy. Oliver Wood was in a similar state. Various people made attempts to draw Sirius into conversation, but he felt anxious and restless. Something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it...  
  
The relaxed, cheerful atmosphere was shattered by a wild, terrified scream from the living room.  
  
'What was that?' Charlie Weasley asked, alarmed.  
  
Sirius wasted no time. Together with Arthur, Molly, Remus, Moody, Fred and George, he sprinted up the stairs, where he collided with Tonks.  
  
'Sirius!' She screamed, 'they're here, they found us, they killed Andrew!'  
  
'What?' Sirius shouted.  
  
'Voldemort', Tonks shrieked at him, 'Voldemort is outside, Sirius! He's come for us!'  
  
Sirius grabbed Tonks by the shoulders and forced her to calm down. 'Did Thompson tell them this address?'  
  
'I don't think so', Tonks gasped, her hair and eyes changing colour rapidly in her distress, 'I saw a Death Eater hold a wand to his throat, he shook his head, they used the Killing Curse. Then...then...Voldemort appeared.'  
  
Sirius swore loudly. 'Get down stairs, all of you', he roared, 'someone get Dumbledore!'  
  
'I am here, Sirius', Dumbledore had followed them unnoticed, and was watching Sirius calmly.  
  
'Sir, you heard-'  
  
'Yes, I am aware that Tom is outside. Remus, Alastor and Arthur, put every Sealing spell, and every curse and hex you can think of on this house-'  
  
Before he could finish, there was a noise like a bomb going off outside the house, and the building shook to its very foundations. Molly and Tonks screamed, while Fred and George cringed.  
  
'Voldemort has used Legilimency on Andrew, this house is no longer safe. They are going to try and blast us out', Dumbledore commented, sounding worried now. 'Sirius, gather all the neccessities for the journey, and leave at once. Tell everybody else to get out too, we are not ready for combat yet. Go!'  
  
Sirius raced back down to the kitchen, where Moody was trying to keep everyone calm, to no avail. 'Snape, Oliver, Eva, Bill, get a move on, grab all our stuff, we have to ru-'  
  
The building shook again. Sirius heard a strange noise, and looking up, saw a large crack forming along the ceiling. 'The house won't take much more of this', he shouted, 'they must've destroyed the houses on either side by now, with those curses. Get out as fast you can, all of you!'  
  
It was only a matter of minutes, Sirius knew, before the house would collapse. He could hear Remus bellowing curses at the walls, and his mother's portrait screaming. Pandemonium reigned, and Sirius was thriving on it. He hadn't had a decent bit of action since his duel with Bellatrix! He gathered all his belongings, as well as Remus', and was back in the kitchen within half a minute. Snape unsealed the small door out of the kitchen, and everybody began pushing and shoving, desperate to get out.  
  
The ceiling was creaking ominously. Sirius stood alone in the kitchen, waiting for Remus to come. 'Get out, Black!' Snape bellowed, 'get out while you still can, or I'll have to seal the door again. The house won't last a minute now the seal is broken!'  
  
'Remus!' Sirius ignored Snape, and ran back to the stairs, colliding with his friend on the way. A huge chunk of plaster fell, only a foot away from Sirius's head. There was no time for idle chit-chat.  
  
Sirius and Remus dived for the door. Snape slammed it shut after them, and sealed it immediately.  
  
It was then that Sirius realised it was a trap.  
  
Dozens of hooded, masked Death Eaters blocked their path. The entire back yard was full of them.  
  
'Looks like we're going to have to fight, whether we're ready or not', Remus murmured.  
  
And the duelling began.  
  
Sirius stood against the wall, feeling completely helpless, as all around him, Order members engaged in deadly duels. He saw one Deat Eater raise his wand and aim a curse at him, but he dodged, and then charged at the culprit, knocking him off his feet. He took the man's wand, and snapped it in two on his knee, getting grim satisfaction from taking away the man's ability to use magic, even if it was only temporary.  
  
He spotted Remus battling three enemies at once-and he was losing. Then Sirius remembered the knife, and he got his fighting spirit back.  
  
He pulled the knife from his robes and aimed with deadly precision, at one of Remus' assailants. His aim was true, and the Death Eater fell, blood flowing around the knife in his back.  
  
The fighting continued for some time. Sirius' mind was racing-what was going on back in the house? Why hadn't it collapsed? Where was Voldemort? The Order was definitely winning-many Death Eaters lay prostrate on the ground, and only one or two Order members had been injured.  
  
Sirius began to look for an escape route. His eyes settled on the high wall at the back of the yard. Beyond that lay another row of houses, and then, the main road. They could easily lose any pursuers on the way.  
  
He hurried over to where Remus and Tonks were battling a big, burly Death Eater. Sirius threw his knife at the man, and wounded him. Remus nodded his thanks, too breathless to speak.  
  
'We need to escape', Sirius muttered to the duo, 'just the seven of us-if the whole Order escape together, we'll be followed, and we can't risk the mission being discovered. Make your way to the wall. Try and come up with a way for us to get over it, unseen.'  
  
The three of them split up and passed the message on to the other four. Sirius searched everywhere for Oliver Wood, and eventually found him, unconscious, and bleeding quite heavily from a wound in his arm. Sirius had to half-drag, half-carry him to the wall. Several Death Eaters blocked his path, but he ducked and dodged, and headbutted the last one, to reach the wall safely.  
  
Snape cast the Disillusion charm on all of them, and Bill and Tonks tried to work out a way to get over the thirty foot high wall.  
  
'I've got it', Tonks hissed, watching fearfully as a Death Eater backed Mad- Eye Moody into a corner, 'GRADUS!'  
  
Tonks pointed her wand at the wall, and every fifth brick in the line in front of Tonks moved forwards, so that they jutted out like steps. Nimbly, Tonks leapt onto the first one, and began to climb like a monkey.  
  
'Oliver!' Sirius called, slapping the boy on the cheek quite hard, to make him regain consciousness. Oliver's eyelids fluttered, and he groaned.  
  
'We haven't got time for examining injuries now', Sirius said urgently, 'I need you to climb, as fast as you can.' By this stage, Snape was half way up the wall, and Remus was starting to climb. The others were already at the top, and climbing down the other side.  
  
Oliver began to climb slowly, breathing heavily, gritting his teeth against the pain. Sirius waited on the ground, to catch him if he fell, but thankfully, the young man's determination carried him over the top of the wall. Sirius then climbed as quickly as possible to the top. He glanced back at his childhood home, and knew that by the time he returned home, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place would be long gone.  
  
But there was no time to reminisce. Sirius climbed down quickly, and jumped the last ten feet or so. 'It's the beginning of the end', Tonks whispered in awe, as green flashes of light and terrible screams filled the air. Sirius badly wanted to go back, as did everyone else, but sacrificing themselves for their friends would do no good.  
  
*************  
  
As dawn approached, a strange procession could be seen trekking through the suburbs of London: Five men in long, dark robes, with rucksacks on their backs, and two women, also robed, holding magic wands in front of them, to light the path ahead. There was something both mystical and ominous about the sight of such a group, their faces determined, their backs straight, not speaking a single word. And each of them knew that every step they took brought them closer to their doom.  
  
*******  
  
Phew! Well, that's my first story ever completed! You might not think it's completed, but I've left it like that so if any of you would like to read more about Sirius' mission, just ask, and I'll be happy to write a sequel! (heck, I could just make it one big story, but this seems like as good a point as any to stop-maintains tension-I hope !)  
  
C ya! Thanks for reading! Luv *~Zana~* 


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